Catholic school teachers line up for vaccinations

St. Catherine of Siena’s nurse Paula Clouse talks to Lisa Hinson, a librarian at Resurrection and St. Margaret Mary schools in Wichita, before administering the first dose of a flu vaccine Saturday morning in the parish hall at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Wichita. (Advance photo)

About half of the nearly 650 Sedgwick County Catholic School employees received the first of two doses of a Covid vaccine Saturday, Feb. 27. The second half will receive their initial dose March 6.

The Guadalupe Clinic organized volunteers to administer the vaccines at St. Catherine of Siena Church Saturday morning. The second doses will be given two weeks after the first, on March 20 and March 27.

Janet Eaton, superintendent of Catholic Schools, worked with JV Johnston, director of the Guadalupe Clinic, to contact Sedgwick County officials in mid-February when Gov. Laura Kelly moved vaccinations to all school employees.

County Manager Tom Stolz told Johnston that Kansas was making an effort to vaccinate all teachers and that the state had allocated extra doses of vaccine to do so.

Eaton eagerly accepted Johnston’s offer to help set up the vaccination process – and recruit help.

Twenty-three nurses and three pharmacists volunteered to vaccinate the teachers. The pharmacists are drawing the vaccine into syringes, Johnston said, because handling the vaccine is more complicated than usual and they have previous experience.

Students from Bishop Carroll Catholic High School helped set up the clinic in the space that was formerly the church.