LEE COUNTY, FLA — The President of the Teacher's Association of Lee County (TALC), Kevin Daly, says educators are breathing a little easier this week.
"The more access we're granted and involved in, the happier I am and my teachers," he said.
That's after they got the news that they qualified for COVID-19 vaccines.
However, where they can go for one is getting a bit confusing.
That's because according to an executive order passed by Governor Ron DeSantis Monday, only k-12 teachers 50 years and older qualify.
But a day later President Joe Biden asked states to vaccinate all education staff, not just teachers.
The Governor reacted to the President's request Thursday.
"The federal government is the one sending us the vaccine if they want it to be for all ages, then they have the ability to go and do that," he said.
But despite acknowledging the ask, Governor DeSantis is still sticking to his push to vaccinate the oldest among us.
"Our view is if you're 25, you're just at less risk than somebody who's 80. That's just the bottom line," he said.
So where does this leave teachers?
Well as of now it depends, we checked and found that Walmart, Sam's Club, Publix, CVS, and any federal vaccine site are following the President's orders.
But Winn Dixie, Walgreens, and most state or county sites are still following the Governor's order.
Daly tells FOX 4 that despite the confusion, education staff members are taking the changes in stride.
"The first message is we're glad to have more access universal access is the key. And now the next step is just allowing the infrastructure to come in behind it," he said.
And they add that it gives them hope for the upcoming school year.
"You know it kind of gets us back to the idea that maybe that August [2021] looks more like 2019 than it did 2020," he said, "Schools as much as we try to social distance, schools weren't set up for social distancing they were set up for social interaction."
