Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday college professors will not be included among the expanded list of groups eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, although teachers can soon get the shots.
Kemp said in response to a question during a news conference to announce the expansion of the vaccination groups that he had a few reasons for not adding professors and other college employees to the list at this point.
“From our perspective, college and university employees are dealing with an older population. They have a lot of different options per the University System for the way they handle their classes, social distancing. With early care learning, if a parent doesn’t have a place to drop their child, they can’t go to work. And that does not allow them to protect their livelihood, care for their family and that’s why we included these early care teachers and staff,” Kemp said.
Currently, only Georgians 65 and older, healthcare workers, people working in nursing homes and long-term care facilities and public safety officers were eligible to get vaccinated as part of the 1A vaccination group. State officials will expand the list, effective March 8, to teachers, school staffers, adults with intellectual disabilities and parents of children with “complex medical conditions.”
Kemp has frequently said the state needed more vaccine from the federal government as demand has been greater than supply. Teacher groups have been vocal in recent weeks about the need to be vaccinated as state and federal lawmakers have pushed for schools to reopen.
Several professors had hoped to be added to the list before Kemp’s announcement, particularly after getting messages from some universities that they may be in the 1B vaccination category. The governor said Thursday the state was doing away with the different vaccine categories to avoid confusion about the differences.
Matt Boedy, conference president of Georgia’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said he’s happy the list has been expanded, but thought campus employees would be included.
“Like thousands of my colleagues on college campuses, I will just have to wait a bit longer,” he said. “I would have thought we as a group of educators on college campuses would be critical infrastructure workers...But in my mind, adding college faculty and staff, which is a much smaller population compared to K-12 staff statewide, would not add a significant burden to the supply needed for this new expansion. I guess the governor has a different opinion.”
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