LOUISVILLE, Ky. — About 1,200 educators from Jefferson County Public Schools were scheduled to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Friday at a mass vaccination site at the Kentucky Expo Center.
Gov. Andy Beshear called it a "shot of hope" for educators.
“Throughout this past year, our educators have overcome incredible obstacles, yet they have kept educating our kids to the best of their abilities, sometimes at the risk of their own lives," Beshear said.
JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio called it a day he wouldn’t forget.
“Now we have confidence that we will have all 13,000 JCPS employees that have requested this vaccine by the end of the first week in February,” Pollio said. “We know that school will be right around the corner for our kids and so we are so excited to be a part of that.”
About 12,000 people, including health workers, corrections personnel, and first responders, have received their first dose since the site opened, according to Associate Medical Director Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage.
Breanna Finley, a first-year teacher at J.B. Atkinson Academy was in line to get her shot.
“It’s a great feeling and it’s an honor to be here,” she said.
Kentucky could give out more doses if it had more coming in, said Gov. Beshear.
“Today we’ve administered more than 250,000 doses of the vaccine since receiving our first shipment a month ago with more than 190,000 of those vaccinations occurring in just the last 3 weeks," he said. "Our only limitation as we stand here today is supply from the federal government.”
About 5,400 JCPS employees are expected to come through the site next week.