At the beginning of November, a local news affiliate in Michigan reported that schools in The Saginaw Township would be closed for a peculiar but familiar reason.
According to the outlet, all classes including child care and after-school programs were canceled after nearly the entire staff had negative reactions to the COVID booster shot.
The school district released the following statement regarding the staffing shortage:
“A large number of our staff had negative reactions to the COVID booster shot given at a clinic over the weekend, resulting in absences today (Monday). As you may be aware, there is already a substitute teacher/staff shortage throughout the state of Michigan, further complicating the availability to cover those absences. Please note, we notified parents as quickly as we could yesterday. Thank you for understanding.”
The occurrence at Saginaw Township schools is not the only district in the nation reporting negative side effects from the boosters, and this event seems to be extremely common with both the COVID vaccine as well as the booster shots.
In the spring of 2021, countless local news outlets across the country reported repeated school closures due to teachers and staff having adverse reactions to the second dose of the COVID vaccine.
In what seems to be a widespread phenomenon not seen with any other vaccine, teachers across the country called out sick due to reactions from both the Pfizer and Moderna MRNA vaccine, as well as the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson is still currently battling several lingering lawsuits after it was discovered that J & J knew for decades that Asbestos lurked in its baby powder.
Edwardsburg Public Schools
From WNDU:
While most students and staff in Michiana are starting their week back at school, Edwardsburg Public Schools are not after several teachers saw reactions from their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It’s been everything from nausea and vomiting, to fever, fatigue, a little bit of everything,” Superintendent Jim Knoll told 16 News Now.
Those symptoms forced superintendent Jim Knoll to cancel class on Monday just two days after several school personnel was vaccinated.
“We didn’t have enough subs, we had a few too many who had symptoms,” Knoll says.
Northeast Ohio school district
From Fox 8:
Two days after employees were given their first round of COVID-19 vaccinations, the Fairless Local School District canceled classes, attributing it to many developing side effects and becoming ill.
The Akron, Tuslaw, and Massilon public school districts closed for the same reason.
Parents of children in the Fairless district received an email that the schools would be closed on Monday after many of the school staff who received the vaccine on Saturday became ill.
Colchester Elementary
From NBC Connecticut:
Colchester Elementary School was closed Monday because some teachers experienced some side effects after getting the coronavirus vaccine over the weekend and there was a lack of substitute teachers to fill in.
Supt. Jeffrey Burt said there was a vaccination clinic on Saturday and 17 Colchester Elementary School staff members, including nine who teach in core-area classrooms, who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine had some side effects that kept them out of work today.
“Typical side-effects, the fever, the aches, the pains, etc.,” Burt said.
Grayson County Public Schools
From WDBJ:
Grayson County Public Schools closed Monday because several of its employees were still recovering from their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I was sick for about 8 or 10 hours; I was very fortunate, but also that I’ve got two board members in their late 60s early 70s, and they had nothing,” said Kelly Wilmore, the Grayson County Public Schools superintendent.
Sandy Creek schools
From Local SYR:
Sandy Creek Central School District didn’t have school on Thursday, but not because of too much snow.
The district superintendent told NewsChannel 9 that several employees who received the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday weren’t able to come to work on Thursday. The district used an emergency day for the closing.
An EMT who spoke with NewsChannel 9 a few weeks ago said he felt it.
“One of the biggest things to note is you’ll feel a bit weird for a few days afterward,” said Evan Bailey.
Farwell School district:
From ABC 12:
As school teachers and staff get vaccinated against COVID-19, school districts have had to adjust their schedules to account for any potential side effects from the vaccines themselves.
An example of this came on Wednesday when Farwell Area Schools in Clare County closed for the day to allow its staff to rest and recover after receiving the second dose of the vaccine earlier this week. In a post on social media, the district said that the second dose can sometimes cause some “unpleasant symptoms.”
Stark County School
From Idea Stream:
Fairless Elementary in Navarre, Ohio canceled classes Monday because several staffers had reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The school in rural Stark County announced the cancelation in a now-deleted Facebook post early Monday, saying they did not have enough staff to operate safely after many employees received the vaccine on Saturday.
According to the Facebook post, classes will resume on Tuesday. School officials did not answer phone calls.
By Monday afternoon the Facebook post had been removed, but not before drawing comments from many people.
Newark City Schools
From USA Today:
Newark City Schools was forced to cancel classes on Thursday, a day after many of the staff received the second COVID-19 vaccine.
According to a tweet from the district, Newark schools closed Thursday because of a staffing shortage.
Shepherd Schools:
From Morning Sun:
The Shepherd School District was shut down Thursday because a number of its staff were sick. But, not from a virus or bacteria. From a vaccination shot.
“Unfortunately we will need to call a snow day for tomorrow, Thursday, due to the district’s staff experiencing ill symptoms from their second dose of the Covid vaccine,” wrote Shepherd Superintendent Greg McMillan in an email. “There will be no online instruction.”
Ithaca Public Schools
From Morning Sun:
Alma and Ithaca schools were missing from the list of area districts closed due to weather.
It’s because they were already closed either due to a large number of staff calling out because of reactions to a second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine or because it was anticipation.
Alma announced the closure on Feb. 16, anticipating that a large number of its employees would get their second dose over the weekend.
Additional Schools:
There are likely many more schools that have experienced the same reactions to all three types of Covid-19 Vaccines, but media outlets have not reported them
In an email obtained by TRE, STEPS Academy reported having similar issues with staff reactions. No media outlets have reported on the reactions STEPS staff experienced.
