CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County hit a vaccine milestone this week, with 51% of residents having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
That's still significantly lower than the state average of 65%.
Clayton County 8th grader Judah Whaley said his school continues to take the risk seriously.
"Clayton County's a pretty careful county, so we still get our temperature checks, we also still have masks and hand sanitization stations everywhere," he said.
But 14-year-old Whaley, a part of 11Alive's Learning Curve series, said things have been looking up.
"I haven't had any full asynchronous or virtual weeks because everybody's been staying healthy for the most part," he said.
The school district is doubling down on efforts to raise vaccination numbers…announcing that starting next week, they'll begin administering the shots to students at school.
The clinics will be open to students 12 or older, and any student under 18 will need signed parent permission.
All the vaccinations at the district’s clinics will be administered from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on their scheduled days. Clayton’s clinics will be:
Monday 3/28: Adamson, Eddie White, Kendrick and Pointe South middle schools
Tuesday 3/29: Babb, Mundy’s Mill, Rex Mill and Riverdale middle schools
Wednesday 3/30: Forest Park, M.D. Roberts and Sequoyah middle schools
Thursday 3/31: Jonesboro, Morrow and North Clayton middle schools
The vaccine clinics will move to the district's high schools starting April 11.
Monday 4/11: Drew, Forest Park, Jonesboro and Lovejoy high schools
Tuesday 4/12: Morrow, Mount Zion, Mundy’s Mill and North Clayton high schools
Wednesday 4/13: Elite high school
"There have been efforts ever since the school year started to get vaccinated, and they haven't really backed down or anything," Whaley said. "I still get emails all the time of seminars and meetings, you know, just to try to help people get vaccinated."
Whaley and his family are already fully vaccinated. He said he's doing his best to finish the year strong and with a new perspective.
"Right now we're living through history, especially with the conflicts outside of the US right now, it's just like living through history," he said. "I know I'm young, but I feel like I'm wiser."
For those who have been following Whaley's progress this year, it won't come as a surprise that he was recently named a Georgia REACH scholar. It's an honor that comes with a $10,000 scholarship for college.