Angry teachers call out superintendent who got his COVID vaccine early in California

A California schools chief who got a COVID-19 vaccine shot from leftover doses at an event for top-priority educators faces outcry from teachers who have yet to be vaccinated.

“For me, what it feels like is we’ve got the captain and co-captain of the Titanic getting on lifeboats and watching the Titanic sink while they’re safe,” said Adam Babendir, whose wife works in the Novato Unified School District, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

Kris Cosca, district superintendent, received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Jan. 18 at a county event for special education teachers, custodians, food workers, bus drivers and other top-priority education workers, KTVU reported.

Health workers at the event had about 200 doses left over and invited lower-priority school employees to be vaccinated to prevent the doses from going to waste, according to the station. Cosca received one of those leftover shots.

But some teachers say Cosca should have given way to a front-line classroom teacher.

“I don’t know who said this, but someone said, it feels like the rug is constantly being pulled out from us, we are being minimized,” Karen McCormish, a board member of the Novato Federation of Teachers Union, told KRON.

“It’s about choosing how you want to be a leader,” said Mariah Fisher, a teacher and president of the union, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

But Cosca says he was invited to receive one of the leftover vaccines and double-checked with county health officials to be sure he was eligible, according to the publication.

“So what they’re saying is they don’t like the county’s criteria,” he told the Marin Independent Journal. “I didn’t pick the priorities. Marin County Public Health picked the priorities.”

County health officials say there’s just not enough vaccine to go around yet, KRON reported.

“We wish we weren’t having to make these decisions,” said Dr. Matt Willis, public health officer for Marin County, according to the station.

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Angry teachers call out superintendent who got his COVID vaccine early in California."