LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Seneca High School sophomore Zachary Koerner has been planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine with his mom, but they just haven’t had the time to do it.

“My mom’s been busy with work. I’ve been busy with work and school,” he said. “So we’ve just kind of had conflicting schedules.”

He said he actually had an appointment this week to get vaccinated, but then the school district decided to hold a vaccination drive at Seneca.

“Being able to take it in school rather than having to make an appointment and just leave school and miss time in school, I feel like it’s more convenient,” Koerner said.

Koerner was one of at least 55 students to get a vaccine at Seneca High School on Wednesday, according to school officials.  

JCPS district health manager Eva Stone said it’s the first of many vaccine drive for students the district plans to have.  

“Word of mouth is pretty important with vaccination,” she said. “And so as we start these clinics and students tell each other, ‘Hey, this wasn’t so bad. Hey, this is important for you to get.' Then we’ll continue to see students vaccinated this way.”

And Seneca High School Principal Michael Guy said they specifically want to reach students who face barriers getting the vaccine.

“So by hosting this event and having our kids kind of come in and do it, kind of essentially, in their backyard, we have a better chance of vaccinating more scholars who are not vaccinated,” he said.

Koerner said he’s glad to finally get his first shot out of the way.

“I just want society to go back to normal,” he said. “I hate that we’re all in this pandemic and everybody is afraid to go outside.”

And in three weeks, he’ll be back to get his second dose, along with dozens of others.

No definitive plans have been made yet to hold vaccine drives at other JCPS schools, but Stone said officials are looking at areas with low vaccination rates and how to coordinate with health care providers and schools in those areas.