Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s Statement on Vaccinating Educators and Safely Re-Opening Schools

LOS ANGELES – Today So Fi Stadium located in the Inglewood community of the Second Supervisorial District officially became the latest vaccination site in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell joined Board Chair, Hilda Solis, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, and health care workers and labor leaders to help  kick-off Phase 1B of vaccinations at the stadium – which includes educators, child-care workers and emergency responders. Supervisor Mitchell provided the following statement on vaccinating educators and re-opening our schools:

“Vaccinating our teachers and school faculty is a critical step towards fully reopening our schools. We cannot reopen our schools at the expense of the health of our students, teachers, and their families. Thankfully the vaccine matched with a commitment to following public health guidelines have allowed for a steady decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. These numbers along with guidance from our public health officials and insight school faculty, caregivers, and residents, must all be considered as we plan for re-opening schools.

With  80 different school districts in LA County, no single entity can make a unilateral decision to open all schools. Instead, we must work together to safely return to the classroom based on the realities of the communities each school is located in.

This week makes one year since the first LA County stay-at-home order went into effect. Since then, the immense responsibility of educating our students hasn’t stopped. Our educators, students and their families have had to adapt to online learning and working remotely while their lives were disrupted by this pandemic.

After one year of fighting to end COVID-19, we know that high speed internet is not a luxury but instead a utility that every person needs. We also know that as we work to bridge the digital-divide and begin to safely re-open schools, we must also prepare for the additional resources and support our students will need after losing a year of in-person learning.

The vaccination of our educators and child-care providers is a milestone moment in our fight to end the pandemic but our work is far from done. I am committed to ensuring LA County gets its fair share of the vaccine so we can expand in-person learning for all students along with re-opening other key sectors that have been devastated by this virus.

This past February, The California Department of Public Health Department allowed the opportunity for all schools in LA County offering grades TK-6 to open if they meet both state and county guidelines. To learn more about the guidelines to re-open visit: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/COVID19_School_Guidance_Checklist.pdf

For the latest information on who is eligible to receive a vaccine in LA County and to book appointments for the vaccine, please visit: ph.lacounty.gov/VaccineAppointment

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