LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Now that the governor has laid out plans for schools to be able to return to in-person classes safely, the Superintendents of Kentucky's school districts had a chance to react.
And they got some good news on how they'll be able to keep faculty and staff safe. One of those steps is offering the COVID-19 vaccine to all school district employees.
The Department of Public Health, along with the Department of Education, gave some information on how school districts can submit a plan of which employees will get the vaccine. School districts are asked to submit names of employees to the DPH and are asked to prioritize vaccine distribution by higher-risk people first.
"That includes people that work in your school, whether they be the front desk folks, the folks in the cafeteria, custodial staff, whoever works in that school. We want to make sure that we offer this across the board to everyone," Dr. Connie White, Deputy Commissioner of the DPH, said.
While the details of the distribution still need to be worked out, both the Department of Public Health and Department of Education ensure Kentuckians that giving the vaccine to staff and continuing to follow the Healthy at School guidelines will keep students and staff safe during the spring semester. with a goal of doing as much in-person learning as possible.
"I think if you are holding kids harmless, if you are making the best decisions on the behalf of faculty and staff, for their safety and the safety of their family, and you're doing the absolute best you can, then you're doing everything you can do," Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman said.
The deadline for school districts to submit names for the vaccine is Dec. 30.
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