Denton County to vaccinate more educators

DENTON, Texas - Texas Motor Speedway hosted about 2,500 educators Friday to administer vaccines.

Denton County set aside these vaccines and set up a time after school for them to get shots.

It was a celebratory afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway as teachers across Denton County received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Since becoming eligible for the vaccine last week, tens of thousands of teachers across North Texas have been asking two questions: where and when?

Denton County Public Health has vaccinated roughly 30,000 people a week at TMS. About 13,000 teachers are on their waiting list. On Friday, they invited roughly 3,500 of them to get their first dose.

Denton ISD Superintendent Jaime Wilson says having teachers and staff vaccinated on Friday gives them the chance to recover from any possible side effects over the weekend.

Juan Rodriguez, the chief epidemiologist with Denton County Public Health, says they’ll continue inviting teachers to TMS on Fridays as long as it’s necessary.

"We’re very happy to do this," he said. "Hopefully we can do this in a couple of weeks again."

For history teacher Doug Lasfenderson, it’s the first step in getting back to normal.

"Since March of 2020, I have only had eight students in my class. I’ve taught many virtual classes," he said.

Denton ISD Assistant Athletic Director Chivonne Kiser says she’s happy to put COVID in the past and looks forward to everyone getting their shot at getting vaccinated.

"I know there’s a lot of people out there who are apprehensive about getting this shot. Do it, y’all. Do it!" he said. "Let’s try to get back to normal as soon as we can."

For educators in Denton County who still want to be vaccinated, Rodriguez invites to sign up on the Denton County Public Health Website. They’ll contact you ahead of the next Friday afternoon vaccination event for teachers.