ComMentor - Spring 2021 - Flipbook - Page 4
Staying Safe
Beyond the Classrooms
Mentor High School hosts COVID-19 vaccination clinics
4
Mentor Public Schools / Spring 2021
Retired Mentor Fire Chief Rich Harvey
not only saw the relief, but also how much
it meant to Mentor Schools educators to
receive the vaccine when he volunteered to
administer shots at the first clinic.
“In the two or three minutes I had with
nearly 100 of them (one at a time) from
many different job classifications, responsibilities and buildings, it was so apparent to me how much they care about ‘our
kids,’” he says.
“I must say from my heart that it was truly
a privilege to get to interact with so many of
your dedicated people,” Harvey told Superintendent Bill Porter. “I know how proud
you are of them and anyone who gets to
interact with them should certainly feel the
same way.”
LCGHD Director of Environmental
Health Dan Lark says the vaccination clinics
are a vital part of continuing to do everything
possible to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
in the community.
“For every person who gets a shot, it helps
break the chain of transmission from a
positive COVID-19 case. It’s one more way
to protect the rest of our population,” Lark
says. “If we’re able to make sure teachers aren’t bringing home COVID-19 to their families, and students aren’t bringing it home to
their families, it reduces the amount of virus
transferred to others in Lake County.
“When you combine the mask-wearing,
the social distancing and the vaccine, we
now have all of these tools to stop the spread
and protect everybody.”
At the time of this writing, people age 16 and
older are able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
You can check the Lake County General Health
District website for more information.
PHOTOS: BRYON MILLER
T
his year, Mentor Public Schools
has added layer upon layer of
safety measures to keep students and teachers safe in the
classroom amid the COVID-19
pandemic. Over the last few months, the
district contributed to adding yet one more
layer of safety for the community by hosting
COVID-19 vaccination clinics for the Lake
County General Health District (LCGHD).
The most recent clinics were open to all
eligible community members, and nearly
5,000 people received their first and second
doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Mentor High
School. The clinics were incredibly efficient
and organized, moving people through
quickly and safely.
Local educators and support staff were
given an early opportunity to receive the
COVID-19 vaccination, and the LCGHD selected three district-sites to ensure all of Lake
County’s school personnel (who chose to)
could receive their vaccine doses in February
and March. The effort was a display of strong
community partnerships with a mix of certified county health officials, school nurses
and licensed volunteers from Mentor and
other area districts administering the vaccines to more than 1,200 people at the Mentor High School educator clinics. Mentor Fire
and Police departments provided support as
well, reviewing the logistics of the plan and
working with the district and health department on the day of the clinics.
It was evident the people coming
through the very first educator vaccination
clinics felt grateful to have the opportunity
to do so early. Mentor Schools Director of
Business Operations Bill Wade says there
was a palpable sense of joy and relief when
doses were given.
“It definitely felt like this was a significant
step where people felt like they had that first
level of protection,” Wade says of the first
clinic. “You could sense the relief in people
at the clinic. It felt like we had turned a corner. You could tell people were feeling happy
and hopeful.”