Vaccine Makes its Way to Teachers

Head of Middle School Danielle Passno takes a photo while receiving the Moderna Vaccine on February 13. Teachers have taken the opportunity to take the vaccine in the past few months. “I feel very lucky and grateful that we got it,” Ms. Passno said.

Many members of the faculty have received their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. They found the process to be relatively painless and are fortunate to have received the vaccine. 

The Pfizer, the Moderna, and now the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are a very large step towards coming back to “normal” school.

“I've felt pretty safe at Browning the entire time, so the vaccination didn’t really change the way I felt about being at Browning, but I am really excited for the world that vaccination is happening,” Head of Middle School Danielle Passno said. “I'm also really excited for when Browning can get back to non-socially distanced pods.”

Assistant to the Head of School Jennifer Montemayor also felt that the experience of getting the vaccine was quite simple. 

“The shot itself was very easy,” Ms. Montemayor said. “It was like the flu shot. But for about 5 days it felt like a bruise where I got the shot. There were people doing standing leg lifts and I was doing lunges to stay warm in line since it was very cold.”

Even after getting their first doses of the vaccine, most of the faculty were still cautious about going outside and social distancing. They are still respectful and worry about spreading the virus to others. Even after receiving the vaccine, people still feel vulnerable and worried about contracting the virus despite receiving this protection. 

“I’m at home right now,” Upper School Math Teacher Matthew Bratnick said. “Although the couple times I had to go on the subway I think I felt about the same. We are not really sure with only one dose, how much immunity you have. After the second dose maybe I will feel more invincible. I'm still wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.” 

President Joe Biden announced that he aims to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by July 4 weekend. As people ages 16 and over are now eligible to receive a vaccine, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, especially with ages 12-15 also just recently being announced as the latest eligible group.