UMD Wraps Up First Week of On-Campus COVID Vaccinations
Students in the waiting area after being vaccinated (Stephanie Cordle/University of Maryland)
The University of Maryland, College Park ended its first round of vaccines on campus at their vaccine clinic this week on Thursday, according to the vaccine clinics’ project manager Andrea Bussler.
Following the “slow opening,” purposefully vaccinating a small number of people so they can see how the clinic runs, the university had last week, they plan on operating at full capacity for this week’s clinics.
Prince George’s County gave the university about 1,170 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, according to Bussler. After receiving the first dosage this university would provide the second one the three-week waiting period is over.
Freshman biology major Jenna Mingo was one of the recipients. She said she had signed up for an appointment outside of the school, but chose to come to UMD’s clinic because it was more convenient.
“[I was] really excited because I’ve been trying to get it for a while because my friends have already gotten it, and I want to get back to normal,” said Mingo. “It was a relief that they were doing it here.”
Mechanical engineering graduate student Sai Bhogaran chose UMD’s clinic for a similar reason.
“It was more accessible, that’s why I came here. I was pretty satisfied,” said Bhogaran.
The university notified the campus community of the vaccine portal through email last Thursday. They planned to have all appointments for this past week’s clinic be scheduled through that portal.
“This week we received a limited vaccine supply and prioritized our frontline staff who face barriers to vaccination,” read the email signed by Dr. Spyridon Marinopoulos, the Director of the University Health Center. “We received an additional supply, and will offer all students, faculty and staff the opportunity to schedule an appointment.”
UMD’s Health Center has only received the Pfizer vaccine but is prepared to give out any of the vaccines, said Bussler. The prospect of more on-campus clinics after this week depends on Prince George’s County and when they provide the university with more vaccines, she said.
According to Bussler, the task force has been working since November to ensure on-campus vaccine sites run smoothly.
“It has been very rewarding to see this come to fruition, particularly after a lot of months of hard work and effort by people to bring the vaccines to campus and it has been rewarding to see the staff and the students be able to come in and receive the vaccine on campus,” says Bussler.