TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — With coronavirus vaccines arriving in Kansas, state training officers are getting ready for what that can imply for the upcoming college yr.
“We all know that the vaccine’s on the way in which and that’s encouraging, however seemingly a lot of our college students is not going to obtain these vaccinations early within the semester,” stated Dr. Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents.
Flanders defined that almost all college college students which can be between 18 and 24 will almost definitely be later in line to obtain the vaccine, as a result of they’re in a lower-risk group, whereas some college might obtain the vaccine earlier on.
Proper now, the state’s vaccine distribution plan identifies individuals in training as important staff. Lecturers are anticipated to obtain the vaccine as quickly as late winter. However, the vaccine gained’t be accessible for most people till summer season. And as increased training officers are preparing for the spring semester, they’re anticipating related obstacles and uncertainty that got here with the coronavirus pandemic within the fall.
“A lot of these issues are potential outbreaks,” Flanders stated. “What we all know is we may have adjustments. We don’t know what precisely the setting goes to be within the spring.”
In response to Flanders, Kansas’ increased training services had been tasked with sanitizing lecture rooms and adhering to security protocols, like social distancing, to make sure a protected return to the varsity setting for college students and employees. The board plans on specializing in taking an identical strategy within the Spring to make for a “protected” and “efficient” return to highschool.
As of now, there aren’t any vaccination necessities for universities within the state, however training officers are counting on individuals to decide into taking the vaccine as soon as it’s accessible.
“Proper now, we’re inspired {that a} vaccine is right here for some, on the way in which for others,” Flanders stated. “So, we’re hopeful that almost all will simply voluntarily be vaccinated in order that we will actually cease the unfold of this virus.”
The state is receiving 23,750 vaccines from Pfizer this week, and is anticipating extra vaccines to come back within the following weeks.
