SAN DIEGO — COVID-19 vaccinations are scheduled to open to teachers, law enforcement and food workers Saturday, but there’s an extra step for teachers. School leaders will receive an email from the San Diego County Office of Education with details on how to submit information on eligible employees to VEBA.
Vaccinations are being coordinated by the County Office of Education and VEBA -- the California Schools Voluntary Employee Benefits Association. They’re working together to follow state guidance on prioritizing vaccination.
“The county wanted some way to ensure that they dedicate 20% of their vaccine supply to getting those employees vaccinated,” said Mueller.
Bob Mueller, Special Projects Coordinator at the San Diego County Office of Education, says K-12 schools will get vaccination information from their district at any moment.
“We’re working frantically to get those emails out,” said Mueller.
He adds, “The way the process works is the school leader be notified via email when their school is eligible, they provide VEBA with identification information from their employees.”
Once VEBA receives submissions from qualifying schools, those employees will be able to log in to the VEBA portal at VEBAvaccinates.com to make appointments.
Education staff can only book appointments through the VEBA site, they cannot book through the county vaccination sites.
Educators and staff from 242 schools in San Diego County will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Saturday at RIMAC at UCSD in La Jolla.
The RIMAC station is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week.
Mueller says the county made its decision to start the process by looking beyond the individual classrooms and into the community.
In a prepared statement, the county's education office says:
“SDCOE and VEBA are following County of San Diego health guidelines to prioritize 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 SDCOE’s school reopening dashboard."