Copperas Cove ISD administers vaccines to staff

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

For hundreds of Copperas Cove Independent School District teachers and other staff members, receiving the Covid vaccination is a huge relief and a step towards returning to normal.

CCISD partnered with Coryell Health to provide approximately 350 CCISD staff members with the 1st dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The shot clinic was held at the District Training Facility Tuesday from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. where all CCISD staff members were able to receive the vaccine for free. The same staff will receive their 2nd dose in about three weeks. The vaccination was voluntary for staff members. 

Amy Hudson, Director of Health Services for CCISD, said that they have had two previous drives wherein staff members were able to receive their first and then second dose of the vaccination.

At Tuesday’s drive, she said that six school nurses, four Advent Health nurses, and four Coryell Health nurses were on hand to help make sure the process was quick and efficient.

Upon arriving, after filling out paperwork or turning in their already completed paperwork, staff members answered a few quick questions to make sure that it was safe for them to receive the vaccination. After the vaccination, they received a card stating their date of vaccination and were observed for 15 minutes to make sure there were not any negative side effects.

“We just want to keep things safe,” Hudson said.

Each school day, CCISD staff members interact with dozens of people, possibly putting themselves at risk despite taking all precautions.

For Cari Lowery, CCHS’s head volleyball coach and girls’ athletic coordinator, being able to get the Covid vaccination was a huge breath of relief. She said that she has been enforcing the mask wearing policy for her students, even while playing games, and feels very strongly about enforcing the rule. She said that they are very diligent about spraying down the equipment and the locker rooms multiple times a day.

“The health of our players is important, and my health is important,” said Lowery. “The girls’ have worked very hard…Their school year was cut off last March so, for the kids that came back, they wanted to play a season…We wanted to keep everyone healthy. We wanted to continue to get to keep playing. We have played teams this year that may not have necessarily taken all of the precautions and their teams had to stay home for two weeks and those games got cancelled. We just want to do the best we can to keep everybody healthy and provide as much normalcy as we can for the kids.”

Lowery admitted that it has been harder playing while wearing the masks, and communication can sometimes be difficult, but they quickly got used to it. Lowery said that it’s worth it to make sure that her girls are able to play as many games as possible.

Lowery said that being able to get the Pfizer vaccine was exciting and she feels like it is a big relief to herself and fellow staff members. 

“This gets us one step closer to normal,” said Lowery. “Everyone sitting in here, everyone still in line, is very appreciative that our administration made this happen for us.”