LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools expects every teacher and staff member who works directly with elementary students and requested COVID-19 vaccinations will receive their first shots by Friday.
Vaccinations opened for 1,200 JCPS teachers and staff from 25 elementary schools on Jan. 22 at Louisville Metro's drive-thru site in Broadbent Arena. JCPS school nurses had previously received their initial doses of Moderna's vaccine, which requires a 28-day waiting period before boosters can be administered, at the location.
Superintendent Marty Pollio said last week he's "very confident" in-person instruction will resume once district personnel are inoculated against COVID-19. That decision ultimately rests with the Jefferson County Board of Education, which is expected to discuss reopening schools with state and local health officials during a Feb. 2 meeting.
Elementary schools have always been prioritized in district reopening plans as Kentucky's vaccine distribution schedule took shape. One general plan discussed at a December board meeting called for preschool through third-grade classrooms to reopen first as part of a gradual resumption of in-person learning based on the district's allotment of vaccine doses.
When JCPS reopens classrooms, the district expects about 60% of its more than 96,000 students will return to schools while about 40% opt to continue learning from home based on current survey results.
The district's public vaccination schedule shows school-based personnel will get their initial vaccine doses by Thursday followed by those who work in early childhood programs, transportation and food services on Friday.
Central office departments are also slated for COVID-19 vaccinations Monday and Friday in the vaccine schedule, though that will be limited to employees whose job responsibilities include working directly with elementary students, said Renee Murphy, the district's head of communications and community relations.
"That's why some of the administrators are identified to go as early as Friday," Murphy said. "… We have some administrators that do not have contact with students, and so they would not be in these early days of the distribution."
A vaccination schedule beyond this week for personnel who work in middle and high schools will be released “very soon," she said.
Whether all eligible JCPS employees are vaccinated by Feb. 5, the date by which Gov. Andy Beshear believes more than 82,000 school workers in Kentucky who have requested COVID-19 vaccines will have their initial doses, remains to be seen. More than 13,000 JCPS teachers, staff and contractors have registered for COVID-19 vaccinations through the state.
Dr. SaraBeth Hartlage, interim medical director for Louisville Metro, said Jan. 22 that about 5,400 JCPS teachers and staff will be vaccinated at Broadbent Arena this week.
"We'll have to kind of see how the process goes," Muphy said. "… By the time we get to next Friday, we should be pretty close to being complete with the vaccines."
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