Hundreds of teachers and staff members were vaccinated against COVID-19 Sunday as part of the newest phase of New Hampshire’s inoculation plan, which prioritizes school staff.

On Monday, school was canceled in Concord and Hopkinton after many employees called out sick, citing vaccine side effects.

About one-third of Concord’s 1,042 school employees received their vaccine Sunday, at New Hampshire’s state-run site located in the former Sears building of the Steeplegate Mall, according to interim Superintendent Kathleen Murphy. Some employees have already received the vaccine due to age or medical-related eligibility, and more will be vaccinated on March 28.

Those who were vaccinated Sunday received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Most of the employees who were vaccinated Sunday worked at Concord’s elementary schools, according to Murphy, although there were some from the middle and high school too.

Christine Holliday-Rowe, a kindergarten teacher at Christa McAuliffe School and her husband Ernie Rowe, a special education teacher, both got vaccinated Sunday. The couple brought their two young children, Amelia and Patton, along for the 1.5-hour process, because “it felt important that they experience this moment after COVID has been such a big part of their lives,” according to Holliday-Rowe. 

“For me, the vaccination experience was the first step in getting to get back to a school year that is filled with circle time on the carpet, field trips, and all of the things that we've had to put on hold for the time being,” Holliday-Rowe said Monday.

The Concord School District canceled both remote and in-person classes Monday, citing a large number of school staff members who called in sick, Murphy announced to families early in the morning.

The stats varied at each school. Murphy said 42 employees at Concord High School had vaccine appointments on Sunday, and 16 called out sick on Monday. At Abbot Downing School, 35 employees had vaccine appointments Sunday, and 16 called out sick. At Beaver Meadow School, 15 called out sick.

The district doesn’t yet know which brand of the vaccine the other employees will receive next Sunday.

Side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can include arm pain and some symptoms associated with COVID-19, including fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and nausea, according to the CDC. In clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 39% of participants reported headache, 38% reported fatigue, and 33% reported muscle aches, according to an FDA report published Feb 24.

Hopkinton School District also canceled school Monday, and the emails from school principals to families cited a “significant number” of teachers and staff who were sick from side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The health protocols that many schools have been following this year require any staff member experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 to stay home. 

Jake Leon, director of communications for New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services, said Monday that out of the 12,000 individuals who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago and school clinics over the past two weeks, none have experienced a similar situation.

“Such side effects show that the vaccine is working as the body builds protection from the virus. While these side effects may affect our day-to-day lives for a few days, they are brief and the upshot is protection from COVID-19,” Leon said. “While this appears to be an isolated event, the department continues to monitor the situation.”

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