GREENWOOD, Ind. — The wait to get vaccinated is almost over for a Greenwood Middle School teacher and thousands of her colleagues across the state.
Forty-eight-year-old Misty Vaughn always wanted to be a teacher.
“I never really wanted to be anything else,” said Vaughn.
This past year, though, teaching during a global pandemic has been the most challenging of Vaughn’s career.
“How can I keep doing this and for how long?” Vaughn said are the questions she asked herself all year, teaching both virtually and even once she got back in the classroom full-time two weeks ago at Greenwood Middle School..
“It’s really difficult right now. It’s very stressful,” Vaughn said.
Adding to that stress and frustration have been Vaughn’s difficulties getting an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine through the federal retail pharmacy program.
The sixth grade teacher tried Walmart, Meijer and Kroger and couldn’t get an appointment.
“Multiple times a day on breaks, trying to register and get in, especially with Kroger and just not having any luck,” Vaughn explained.
Wednesday, there was some light at the end of the tunnel with the state’s announcement that come Monday, teachers and staff in pre-K through 12th grade, along with licensed child care providers, could sign up through the state for the vaccine.
“My first reaction was I ran across the hall to my colleague to tell her, because she was also waiting,” Vaughn said. "It’s a huge relief. It really is a big relief,” she said.
In part, because Vaughn has worried all year about getting her husband, who has health issues, sick.
“For his sake, I want to make sure that I’m really, really following all the rules and being very purposeful and wearing my mask,” Vaughn explained, saying Monday can’t come soon enough.
“I’m still nervous that I have to wait until Monday, like, I feel at this point, every single day counts."