NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — School buses transported senior citizens Monday from an independent living center to get their coronavirus vaccines.

Some older folks needed help to get to Clay County’s mass vaccination clinic. That’s why North Kansas City Schools partnered with Operation Safe to provide shuttle service to the huge immunization site at Cerner’s world headquarters.

About 60 people living at the Gardens of Northgate boarded a school bus for the short trip to receive their COVID-19 shots. Buses also picked up another 20 senior citizens at Destiny Towers, a low-income housing complex nearby.

For older folks like Joyce Brockton, attempting to drive to a large-scale immunization event on Cerner’s campus seemed a little intimidating, because of long lines of traffic and not being sure exactly where to go.

“From what I heard, I just didn’t want to go on my own,” Brockton said. “So this is great. You can tell there’s a lot of people here, and they are really happy this is going on.”

The buses stayed on Cerner’s campus and then brought all the riders back home after they received their inoculations. The entire excursion only took about 90 minutes.

Operation Safe, a coalition of Clay County cities, healthcare institutions and employers, expects to administer 10,000 shots this week alone.

The school district says it’s happy to provide the transportation and would do so again if needed.