After months of staying at home, taking precautions and long anticipating the COVID-19 vaccine, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have started to reach the forefront of the Fairfax County Public Schools community: teachers.

On Monday Jan. 11, a number of McLean teachers received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I got a text from my wife saying ‘I just got a link for us to go get vaccinated tomorrow,’ and it just came out of nowhere. It felt really good,” math teacher Steven Walker said.

There were, however, contradictory messages from Governor Northam and Superintendent Scott Brabrand regarding who was permitted to get the vaccine, which sparked some confusion.

“I think the governor released [a message] saying that group B was allowed to get the vaccine,” Walker said. “And then we got an ambiguous message from Brabrand that kind of contradicted what the governor said, so we just thought we’ll go and if they turn us away, they turn us away.”

When teachers arrived at the COVID-19 vaccination site, they were reassured that they were supposed to receive vaccines during their scheduled appointments.

“We got there and we asked the woman that was checking us in. She was super happy that we were there,” Walker said. “She said three-fourths of the people that showed up were teachers and they’re just vaccinating as many people as possible.”

Fortunately, the vaccination process was efficient and involved minimal wait time.

“They had it down to a science … They gave us a clipboard, and some paperwork to fill out and it was one page,” Walker said. “I sat down in the chair. Then the nurse just stuck [the vaccine] to my arm and then we had to wait in a waiting room for 15 minutes afterwards just to make sure nobody had an allergic reaction to it. But, it’s really easy.”

Receiving the vaccine was similar to other vaccinations teachers had gotten in the past.

“I got [the vaccine] around 5 o’clock in the afternoon and I felt totally fine,” Walker said. “The next day my arm was pretty sore which felt the same as getting a flu shot. And then today, it’s a little bit sore when I touch my arm, but it’s barely noticeable.”

Despite initial confusion, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was an overall positive experience.

“The people [at the vaccination site] were very reassuring saying that they were glad we were there and that we were in the right spot,” Walker said. “That’s the whole point. You get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible and that’s how you save lives.”

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