DeKalb schools announce COVID-19 vaccine date for teachers, staff

A COVID-19 vaccination is administered during an event in Stonecrest in February. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

A COVID-19 vaccination is administered during an event in Stonecrest in February. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Georgia’s third largest school district finalized its plan to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to interested employees.

The DeKalb County School District is partnering with Walgreens, the county Board of Health and Briarcliff Pharmacy to administer vaccines from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 20 at the system’s Administrative and Instructional Complex in Stone Mountain. A registration link will be provided on Monday to employees.

Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris said in the news release that the district is “encouraged by the continued partnership” with the local health department and other community organizations to get employees vaccinated.

“Our vaccination and testing options provide a service for our employees and the DeKalb County community, as we transition to hybrid learning,” she said. “The vaccine is not mandated, but we wanted to make sure our employees had access after the state adjusted the roll-out schedule.”

DeKalb County has more than 93,000 students and about 15,500 employees, including 6,000 teachers, according to its website. It ranks behind Gwinnett and Cobb in student enrollment.

Dr. S. Elizabeth Ford, DeKalb County district health director, said in the news release the agency is pleased to help the school district offer vaccines to its employees.

“The peace of mind from receiving this vaccine will be immeasurable, as staff continue to transition back to a face-to-face learning environment, educating our future leaders,” she said.