Tulalip Tribe donates COVID-19 vaccines to Marysville educators

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — At a time when many teachers are still waiting to get vaccinated, there’s suddenly no worry for educators in Marysville. This week, the Tulalip Tribe announced plans to donate hundreds of its own vaccines to Marysville teachers.

It is the “infusion” of peace during the pain of this pandemic.

At once, hundreds of Marysville educators were primed, poked and patched — all to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s a game-changer that we can now be comfortable and safe at bringing our kids back to school,” said Lisa Foslien, assistant principal of Marysville Middle School.

Foslien was one of the hundreds of people who got their first COVID-19 shot because of the Tulalip Tribe.

“It’s a huge gift that they’re able to provide us,” she said. “Not everyone has the same opportunity.”

Tribal members told KIRO 7 they simply had more doses left after a majority of tribal members had been vaccinated.

As a result, they called the Marysville superintendent and offered their spare doses to district staffers.

“We wanted to make sure they were there to take care of the kids, and the response from the teachers has been phenomenal,” said Teri Gobin, chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribe.

To say there was a demand for vaccination among Marysville’s educators would be an understatement.

More than 300 school district employees showed up in a single day.

At that rate, nearly every employee in the district will likely be vaccinated by the end of this week.

“This is not just teachers. This is custodians. This is bus drivers. This is support staff. They want all of us to be back to work safely,” said Marysville School District Superintendent Jason Thompson.

For Foslien, it not only means a faster reunion with her students but also a long-awaited hug from her own mother.

“To know I’ll be vaccinated, I can see my mother, who I haven’t seen in almost a year,” she told KIRO 7.

Despite the incredible demand here from Marysville educators, the Tulalip Tribe announced it will still have enough doses for tribal members who need to be vaccinated.

The Tulalip Tribe’s efforts come as Gov. Jay Inslee spoke out against vaccinating all teachers at the same time, saying that the priority is still for people over 65 and those with serious medical problems.

Cox Media Group