Teachers from Plymouth’s Little Newtons Among First Educators to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

A group of teachers from Little Newtons in Plymouth were among the people to receive the first 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine the state allocated to early education and child care workers the week of Jan. 18.

“I think that we’ve done so much since the pandemic started to keep the staff safe, to keep the families safe, and now this is an additional step, and I think there’s a big sense of relief with that,” said Alise McGregor, owner of Little Newtons.

About 30 teachers from Little Newtons early education center in Plymouth were part of the state’s initial pilot program to vaccinate educators last week.

So far, half of Little Newtons’ staff members have received the first dose of the vaccine, with the second dose scheduled for mid-February.

About 30 teachers from Little Newtons have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.

But getting additional staff members vaccinated has been challenging.

There’s been a mad scramble for appointment slots this week, caused in part by other educators in the state forwarding registration emails to their colleagues that were meant for specific teachers.

“When we received the email, it didn’t say anything about not forwarding, but we just kind of knew that this was under our license and it should only be for our staff,” McGregor said. “And so I read that and I was quite shocked, and it would make sense why there’s not as much available.”

The state made about 15,000 doses available to teachers this week.

Note: Alise McGregor says teachers in early education settings are not required to wear masks because kids can’t see facial expressions, which are crucial for childhood development.

Plymouth