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Arkansas high school teacher educates students about COVID-19 vaccine after getting 1st shot

Leslie Durbin's students at Sylvan Hills are getting a lesson first-hand from someone who actually received the vaccine.

LITTLE ROCK, Pulaski County — A Sylvan Hills High School science teacher is the first in the school to get the COVID-19 shot, and now she’s teaching her students about the vaccine.

"They are wondering, 'Does it work, aren't you scared?'” said Leslie Durbin, teacher.

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Durbin's students have had a lot of questions after sharing with them that she received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a pharmacy tech at her other job.

Their curiosity led to a class lesson.

"Vaccines, how they are created, how they affect their body, bringing all the sciences like biology, environmental science together,” said Durbin.

She said her students are currently learning how the immune system responds to a vaccine.

Since getting the shot, the CDC sends her text messages, which is a health check in.

She reads those questions to her students, tells them her answers, and explains.

"So, they can see that I'm doing fine and that I haven't had any side effects at all,” said Durbin.

Some may argue the FDA approved the COVID-19 vaccine too quickly, but Durbin’s students have learned with more data and results, the better the experiment is.

"They are being able to see how the research community all over the world has come together with the World Health Organization and share their data, and we've been able to speed up the process and get the COVID-19 vaccine out,” said Durbin.

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Durbin said it's ultimately up to her students if they one day choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but hopes their education is taken far beyond the classroom to help others better understand the science behind them.

"This is history, and I'm just really proud and honored to share this with my students," said Durbin.

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