Dear Superintendents and School Leaders,

The County of San Diego, San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), and California Schools Voluntary Employees Benefits Association (VEBA) are pleased to announce that vaccination of the county’s education staff will commence Saturday, Feb. 27.

The county, SDCOE, and VEBA have worked together to follow state guidance on prioritizing vaccination of education workers who work in schools located in the neighborhoods most impacted by COVID-19. 

Employees assigned to the 242 district, charter, and private schools located in the areas whose score on the state's Healthy Places Index (HPI) places them in the 4th quartile are eligible for vaccination at this time. HPI quartiles for schools are listed on the "Reopening Status By Schools" tab on SDCOE’s school reopening dashboard.

Leaders of these schools will receive an email from SDCOE on Thursday, Feb. 25 with details on how to submit information on eligible employees to VEBA. Once VEBA receives submissions from qualifying schools, those employees will be able to log in to a secure VEBA portal at VEBAvaccinates.com to make appointments.

Directing vaccination resources in this manner addresses COVID-19 health inequities and supports the schools in those communities, which have had transmission rates well above the county average and tend to serve students who are low-income, Black, Latino, Pacific Islander, or the children of essential workers.

Employees of K-12 schools should not make appointments through the county’s reservation portals. Appointments will not be honored for K-12 employees who use the wrong reservation system.

Vaccines will subsequently be made available to employees working in person in areas with lower rates of infection, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Because the county is operating with a limited supply of vaccine, we ask the community for patience as we work to make this process as efficient as possible. We understand your employees and school communities may have questions about the plan for vaccinating school employees. We will provide additional details and communications materials shortly.

Thank you for all you are doing during these unprecedented times. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need support.

Sincerely,

Paul

email: paul.gothold@sdcoe.net