Athens City Council talks vaccinations for Athens K-12 faculty

City Council discussed upcoming COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 faculty at Monday night’s virtual meeting.

Athens City Council discussed the upcoming COVID-19 vaccinations of Athens City School District faculty at Monday night’s virtual meeting. 

Mayor Steve Patterson told City Council that Athens is receiving more than 900 doses of the coronavirus vaccine weekly. He also said they will be vaccinating all Athens City School District faculty this Friday, Feb. 6, while other individuals who received their first dose as part of phase 1A will be receiving their second dose of the vaccine this Friday. 

Athens County is one of nine counties in Ohio where “significant amounts” of the vaccine will be sent to use for teachers and school administrators, according to Patterson. He said this is a pilot focused on vaccinating teachers and faculty all around the Ohio K-12 system.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, employees in K-12 schools that want to educate in person are part of phase 1B distribution, which includes Ohioans aged 65 and up, anyone with a variety of medical conditions and “adults/employees in K-12 schools that want to go back, or to remain, educating in person.” This is the first week that teachers and other faculty members are part of the vaccine distribution process. 

Patterson told City Council that Athens City-County Health Department Administrator Jack Pepper plans to administer 1,110 doses of the vaccine Friday. 

Patterson added that there is a level of patience people need to keep in mind while the vaccine rolls out, saying that the rollout is predicated on there being enough vaccines for each age group. 

“I share that because I think we all get in this mindset that, ‘Hey, this is my week to be able to get my dose.’ And again, that’s really all based upon there being enough doses for those age groups,” Patterson said. 

Councilmember Arian Smedley emphasized the vaccine rollout, in addition to being limited by the number of vaccines Athens gets, is under a phased approach dictated by the governor. 

“These are not decisions being made at the local level, these are rules and phases being established at the state level simply being implemented at the local level,” Smedley said. 

Councilmembers Smedly, Sam Crowl and Beth Clodfelter all noted they heard positive feedback from Athens residents who have gone through the process of receiving a vaccine, specifically at Heritage Hall, Hopewell Health Center and Kroger.  

“The Health Department is operating under a tremendous amount of stress and demand, but they are operating at the utmost professionalism and the utmost care,” Smedley said. 

In other business, City Council reappointed Noah Trembly and appointed Lisa Simpson to the disabilities commission. 

Trembly has previously served as the vice chair of the commission and runs his own company consulting other companies on making facilities more accessible. 

Councilmember Chris Fahl said Simpson has worked in the field of developmental disabilities for over 40 years. 

Patterson also told the Council he received a letter from Athens resident Pete Worsher, asking for consideration of a proposal to create “warming stations” for those in need of shelter due to dropping temperatures. He said he would reach out to Worsher to further explore the proposal. The Athens Community Center has previously been used as a warming station, according to The Athens Messenger.