Over 500 Gainesville City School System employees will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by lunchtime Friday. The school system hosted a clinic Friday morning to get their Pre-K through 12th grade teachers and staff vaccinated, following new rules set forth by Governor Brian Kemp last week.
Director of Pre-K Services and Migrant Education Program Donna Allen said she was nervous but pushed through.
"What really gave me a little bit of comfort was Gainesville City Schools, we've been immersed in the community really since March," Allen said. "We've really been at work since we shut down. So being surrounded by the community wasn't so much of the anxiety, it was the personal vaccination for me and getting shots! But the most important thing for me was making sure to protect myself, my family, and others that we work with."
Mundy Mill Learning Academy school counselor Stacey Cotheran said she had been looking forward to getting vaccinated.
"I'm just thrilled, honestly," she said. "I just feel like I'm going to have so much more peace of mind and it's going to be safe to just do normal things."
Teachers and staff were assigned times based on their last name. By 8:30 a.m., the clinic was already on last names beginning with E, which Superintendent Jeremy Williams said was right on schedule.
Williams plans to be vaccinated as well, but is waiting his turn, as his last name is at the end of the alphabet.
ORIGINAL STORY: THURSDAY, MARCH 11 AT 12:30 P.M. Employees with the Hall County School District are in the process of receiving a free COVID-19 vaccine today as part of the district's two-day vaccine clinic.
Overall, those in line for a dose of the vaccine today said that they are excited for the opportunity and look forward to getting back in the classroom.
"I feel good, hopefully the majority of people will get a vaccine and we can start shedding masks and getting back to life as normal," said Randy Dunster, a school bus driver.
Sandie Gibson, who also drives a school bus for Hall County, said that she was hesitant about getting a vaccine at first, but then changed her mind.
"I was not going to get it, because my parents in Florida have not been able to get theirs yet...but it became available and my parents finally got theirs so it worked out just fine," said Gibson. "There was a lot of apprehension but now we're just all doing it together, we're hALL in, so it makes it a lot easier."
According to Hall County Schools spokesperson Stan Lewis, approximately 1,200 school district employees have signed up to get a vaccine. That number is just short of half of the district's total number of employees.
"I think that a lot of folks were going out and getting it themselves, as well," said Lewis. "The folks that are here seem enthusiastic about having this opportunity and getting back into the classroom, getting back to their jobs at schools and serving kids with a sense of comfort."
School officials divided the day into various time frames for groups of employees to get their vaccine. Today's groups include primarily cafeteria staff, transportation staff and staff members with underlying conditions. The majority of educators will get their vaccines at tomorrow's clinic, which will be held at Free Chapel on McEver Road.
The two-day clinic is a partnership between the school district and District 2 Department of Public Health. Those receiving a vaccine at this week's clinic will be getting a one shot dosage of the newly-approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Employees had the option to request dosages of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine through a private vaccine company. According to Lewis, the district was allocated 126 dosages of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines combined and 124 of those dosages were spoken for.
Those tasked with administering the vaccines include Department of Public Health officials, school nurses with the district and even nursing students at Brenau University.
Jennifer Smallwood, a school nurse at North Hall High School, said that she was more than happy to help administer vaccines for the benefit of her students.
"I am stoked, I am so ready for normalcy, I want to see my kids at the high school have prom, have a normal graduation and walk across the stage with all of their family," she said. "This is really one of the only ways that is going to happen."
Today's clinic is scheduled to continue until 7 p.m. A makeup time is scheduled for both days between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. for any employees that may not be able to make the time slot for their group. Those receiving a vaccine will sign in at a table outside of the church, head to a station for their vaccine and then wait briefly at a monitoring station to wait for reactions.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, there was no wait for a vaccine.
