Officials at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital vaccinated Saugus High Teacher Jim Klipfel to kick off the new phase of COVID-19 vaccinations now available to educators, food workers, and emergency service providers.

At a small event at the hospital on Monday, Henry Mayo began their Phase 1B of COVID-19 vaccinations with Saugus High School Teacher Jim Klipfel. The new wave of eligible Santa Clarita residents include those who work in food and agriculture, education and childcare, emergency services and first responders. 

“I am immensely grateful for the healthcare community and policy makers coming together for us and I would ask that both teams continue to work hard to get the vaccine out,” Klipfel said.

Klipfel is a social studies teacher and swim coach at Saugus High School. He was also one of the first to rush to the Saugus High courtyard to help wounded victims during the tragic shooting in 2019, officials said. 

Klipfel was named California Teacher of the Year in 2019 and also represented the state of California as part of the 2020 National Teacher of the Year competition. He was named Hart District Teacher of the Year two separate times and was one of ten Los Angeles County teachers to be named Teacher of the Year in 2020. 

Regarding the slow journey back to a normal educational environment, Klipfel misses “that human feeling and the presence of young people” and believes that “there’s not a single educator that went into this field to look at a screen.” 

Klipfel recommended everyone to follow the safety protocols so “we can get every one of these young people back in school and address their futures as well as their current mental health situations.”

See Related: COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Expands To Food, Education Workers In March

Klipfel has since begun coaching the Saugus swim team again after their spring season and summer conditioning program were canceled last year. 

“We’re getting slowly back to normal and exercise is just so important to the kids for stress as well as socialization,” he said. “Protocols have been put in place to potentially begin competing again in the next few weeks, and the other schools in the Hart district are on board as well.”

Klipfel is scheduled to receive his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in approximately 3 weeks. 

Sarah Stoddard, a registered nurse and co-lead for the COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Henry Mayo, administered the vaccine to Klipfel. 

Registration and a list of eligible identification are available here. Vaccinations are free, and residents are not required to provide their immigration status.

Nearly 400 sites in L.A. County are administering the vaccines, including federally qualified health clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, and large capacity vaccination sites.

Check the Vaccinate L.A. County Website or follow @LAPublicHealth on social media for more information on when and where people in these sectors can get vaccinated.

For information specific to registering for vaccinations, as well as further information for Santa Clarita Valley residents, visit this page.

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