USU holds second vaccine clinic on campus with hopes to do more this semester

Utah State University administered 500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine during their second vaccination clinic in the Eccles Conference Center on April 16. USU hopes to host at least two more clinics before the end of the spring semester.

“This is a great set-up,” USU public relations director Amanda DeRito said. “We have lots of great nursing students and plenty of room to do the vaccine clinic.”

USU is partnering with the Bear River Health Department to administer vaccines.

According to DeRito, after the link opened for students, staff and faculty to book their vaccine appointment, all spots were taken in about 90 minutes.

DeRito also said the current plan is to hold another clinic on Friday, April 23.

The ability to do additional clinics will depend on the number of vaccines available. If vaccinations are accessible, an alert will be sent out to the USU community; students, faculty and staff will likely be able to book an appointment on Tuesday, April 20 around 11:30 a.m.

Ellis Bruch, director of emergency management at USU, said the university wants to hold four clinics in total.

There could also be a clinic on May 7 during graduation week, he added. This will give people who received the vaccine on April 16 the chance to get their second Pfizer dose, as the 21-day waiting period will be over.

© Joseph F Myers

The clinic set-up is very quick and user-friendly.

“When people walk in, assuming there is no line, they should be in and out in about three minutes,” Bruch said.

After walking through the front doors of the conference center, students and staff are directed into a registration area. They give their name before being led to a room with nursing students waiting to administer the vaccine. Once they find an empty table, their arms are swabbed and a needle is injected.

After the injection, everyone is encouraged to wait in the main conference room for 15 minutes to ensure there are no adverse side effects.

Sadie Herron, a senior at USU, said the whole process was easy, although her arm felt a bit sore after the shot.

“It’s totally worth it to get the vaccine, especially because there are so many who can’t,” she said. “My aunt can’t get the vaccine because she has cancer, it would be unfair of us to be around her and not be vaccinated.”

Herron said she hopes to come back to the Eccles Conference Center on May 7 for her second shot.

Maggie Porter, a staff member who works in the admissions office, said she was grateful to USU for offering the vaccine clinic.

“I feel good,” she said, “and I know everyone really appreciates what USU is doing.”

When asked if she had any worries about getting a vaccine, especially after reports of blood clotting occurred with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Porter said it wasn’t a concern.

“I have plenty of friends who got a vaccine, most with Pfizer and Moderna, and they were fine.”

Any notifications about new vaccine clinics will be sent through the Aggie Alert System. Students, staff and faculty should also receive an email notification.

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© Joseph F Myers