The Guthrie County Department of Public Health and local school districts have been discussing a vaccination plan since November.

The only thing they were waiting for was the state to determine when teachers could be vaccinated. Public Health Director Jotham Arber says not only was his department allocated enough vaccine to cover all school staff, but they also had enough remaining doses from 1A to allow for those 65 and older to receive vaccines. 

“The schools are a vulnerable population in our opinion because they’re going to school every day. Sometimes with your younger kiddos, you find that they tested positive without having any symptoms. That puts some teachers at risk. We really want to identify schools as a valuable asset here in Guthrie County. A lot of listeners have grandkids and kids of their own that go to school, so I think that’s an important place to begin that vaccination.”

Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center and West Central Valley will hold their vaccination clinics tomorrow. Panorama Schools will wait until a professional development day February 19 to hold their clinic.