MACON, Ga. — After a year of virtual or hybrid learning for many Georgia school systems, teachers and staff finally have the chance to be vaccinated starting next week.
On Thursday, school superintendents from across the state spoke with Governor Brian Kemp's office about their plans for getting educators vaccinated.
"A year ago, the initial word was three to five years out. Here we are basically a year out and we're looking at providing vaccinations for our education family," State Superintendent Richard Woods said.
The state is scheduled to receive 83,000 doses of the newly authorized Johnson and Johnson vaccine next week.
"All of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that the state is getting in this initial supply will be dedicated specifically to the K-12 education workforce," Ryan Loke, Deputy Chief Operating Officer to Gov. Kemp said.
Districts that do not receive a shipment of Johnson and Johnson will use either Pfizer or Moderna.
Loke says each district is in charge of their own vaccination plan and scheduling. He says there is enough vaccine supply in the state to accommodate the educators and staff who have said they want the vaccine.
Bibb County Superintendent Curtis Jones says they have partnered with Atrium Health Navicent to work with their team and nurses within the school system to give the vaccine on March 13.
"Currently we believe we can get them all in on the weekend, which will allow us to address part of the concern about the after effects," Jones said.
He says based on a survey of school employees, 55 percent of their staff want the vaccine.
Noris Price, Baldwin County Superintendent, says they will have mass vaccination sites set up at the county's health department and the Board of Education next Friday, March 12.
"We have a half day of school that was already planned, so we feel that that is a perfect day to do it and we're going to vaccinate over 350 employees," she said.
Price says in their own survey, they found that 57 percent of their staff want the vaccine, while 5 percent who are 65 or older have already gotten it.
Loke says even though teachers are getting vaccinated, school systems across the state need to to continue social distancing.
"It doesn't negate the need to mitigate within the schools. You're still going to have kids right now who are not eligible under the Emergency Use Authorization who will still likely get COVID, and COVID will probably still be transmitted in the community, and we'll still have cases in your schools," he said. "So, the things you guys have been doing this entire time, wearing masks, social distancing, having A/B blocks and so on, and so forth... even with vaccines being administered to your teachers and to your work force, you've still got to mitigate in the schools."