SPRINGDALE, Ark. — More than 700 Springdale School District employees received the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday (Jan. 20) during a vaccination clinic on the Springdale High School campus.
The district has a total of around 3,000 employees who will all eventually get the same opportunity.
Special education supervisor, Kelsey Eursery got her vaccine Wednesday.
“Being able to have this opportunity to come here and for the school district to provide us with the time to come and receive this vaccination that will protect us and allow us to better serve our students and staff we are incredibly blessed,” she said.
Preschool counselor, Gina Little says she travels to all the schools across the district and feels like having the vaccine will be good protection for her and all the people she comes in contact with.
“I am so ready for a normal school year and ready to you know hug those kids again and see their faces. And of course, being a counselor, we talk about emotions and feelings, that’s really hard with a mask, so I’m hopeful this will be a step in the right direction,” she said.
District director of nursing, Kathy Launder was the first person in the district to get the vaccine more than a week ago since she is a healthcare worker. She says she’s very happy for her fellow co-workers.
“I think it will give teachers more confidence about being in the building and feel better about being present," she said. "With the students, know that they are going to be safe and know they aren’t spreading anything to anyone else and also feel comfortable for themselves."
Community Pharmacy who is putting on this clinic put in a request to ADH for 2,500 doses knowing it was a lot but hoped because the district is so large they would get the doses.
Owner Victoria Hennessey says they didn’t get as many doses as they asked for, forcing them to scale down the clinic and cut it short by one day.
“We ended up getting about 2/3rd of what we needed for the school. Which we’re very blessed and fortunate to have gotten because there are counties in Arkansas that didn’t get any vaccine, is what I understand. So, it’s a blessing for Washington County to have the doses that we have,” she said.
The school district says it plans to vaccinate more than 600 teachers and staff Thursday (Jan. 21) at the clinic that will be held at Don Tyson School of Innovation from noon to 7 p.m.
They say once the pharmacy is notified that they will get more doses, then they will schedule another vaccination clinic.