LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas teachers and school staff started receiving their COVID-19 vaccine Monday after Gov. Asa Hutchinson had the clearance to move into phase 1B.
Lisa Byrum is an instructional coach at Baker Elementary in Little Rock. She received her first dose of her vaccine at Baptist Health on Monday.
"It went well. Didn't hurt. Everything is super organized. I went right through," Byrum said. "The benefit to me far outweighs any kind of risk."
The Pulaski County Special School District notified teachers they could sign-up to get vaccinated last Friday through a text.
She's grateful teachers and school staff are able to start getting it now.
"I just felt like I'm around a lot of people every day and even though we wear PPE and keep socially distant and wash our hands all the time, this is just another layer of protection for me and the staff," she said.
All school staff within the Beebe School District will receive their vaccine Tuesday. Class is virtual for the day, so teachers can take the time to get their shot.
"We're going to start with pre-k daycare and go all the way through our high school, bus drivers," Superintendent Chris Nail said.
Nail said out of about 400 employees, 70 percent will be getting vaccinated. He said that's an encouraging number.
"I just think this is a great step forward and will also help our teachers be more comfortable in the classroom around the kids," he said. "I had just encouraged all of our employees to talk to their doctor. Not use social media to make a decision."
Nail said there will be enough vaccine for everyone and appointments are already made for the second dose in 28 days.
"I'm just so proud for all the teachers in Beebe and across the state that had the opportunity to get this vaccine and feel safe in their workplace. I'm just ecstatic we're moving in this direction," he said.