LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new COVID-19 vaccination clinic is up and running at Whitney Young Elementary School with hopes to administer hundreds of shots per day in west Louisville.
Norton Healthcare Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Joseph Flynn told reporters Friday that the new site is prepared to vaccinate about 500 people every day during its four-week operation inside the school's gymnasium.
"From our vantage point, the more that can come, the better," Flynn said, adding that the site would help "remind people the vaccine is safe and it's really very effective."
The partnership between Norton, Humana and Jefferson County Public Schools is a first of its kind for Louisville. JCPS is providing space inside the school's gymnasium while Humana shares staffing and Norton delivers doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The vaccination clinic at Whitney Young Elementary is much larger in scale that Norton's previous pop-up sites in west Louisville, Flynn said.
"This really is a time where we can do a larger event as we have access to much more vaccine," he said, adding that state and local governments have worked to identify people who have not received vaccinations and Humana has developed a "robust" phone bank to contact community residents.
The school and vaccine site will remain separate. Renee Murphy, head of communications for JCPS, said doors to get into the school from the gymnasium will remain locked, and a separate parking lot has been set up for those seeking vaccinations on school grounds.
"We are very thrilled to be a part of this very important initiative in our community," Whitney Young Elementary Principal Erica Lawrence said.
The clinic will be open Wednesday through Sunday, and appointments can be made on Norton's website. Organizers said they will also vaccinate those without appointments as vaccine supplies allow.
The number to make appointments at the school is 888-777-7219. That appointment line is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
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