Temple University administered COVID-19 vaccines to students, faculty and staff on the third day of operations of its campus vaccine clinic at White Hall today.
Students at the clinic were excited to receive their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and were pleased with how quick and efficient the process was.
Temple began vaccinating students, staff and faculty at White Hall on March 31 and city residents on April 1. The clinic is open to students, staff and faculty on Wednesdays and to city residents on Thursdays, although some students and employees received vaccinations last Thursday after not enough appointment slots were filled by residents, The Temple News reported.
Philadelphia entered Phase 1C on Monday. Those eligible for the vaccine under Phase 1C of the city’s vaccine distribution plan include postal and package delivery workers, sanitation workers, utility workers and janitorial and maintenance staff, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Residents 65 years and older, those with high-risk medical conditions and some essential workers are eligible under previous phases of the vaccine distribution program.
Temple is set to receive 1,100 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the city each week. About half the doses are intended for students, faculty and staff and the other half for residents, The Temple News reported. The clinic will administer first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is administered in two doses at least 21 days apart, for its first three weeks and second doses in its last three weeks.
To make an appointment at Temple’s clinic, students, faculty and staff must complete Temple’s vaccine interest form while residents fill out the city’s vaccine interest form before being contacted by the university.
Sarah Abrams, a senior marketing major, was able to schedule her appointment two days after filling out the form.
“I like, walked in and they were super nice and they took me right back, and I got my vaccine right next to my friend,” Abrams said. “So I wanted to like, high-five afterwards. It was really nice.”
After receiving the shot, Abrams and Dana Moore, a junior communication studies major, waited inside for 15 minutes while the clinic staff monitored them for possible side effects.
Possible side effects of the Pfizer vaccine include swelling in the arm where the shot was administered and chills, fever and tiredness throughout the whole body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Moore was happy to get the vaccine and felt that Temple’s vaccination efforts were a step in the right direction, she said.
“Getting the COVID vaccine along with everybody else is the safest route,” Moore said.
Chandler McLaurin, a freshman architecture major, was eligible to be vaccinated because she has asthma, she said. She was excited to get the vaccine to keep the people around her safe.
“This will help us get out of the pandemic, you know, people get vaccinated, things will get a lot better,” McLaurin said.
Philadelphia is set to expand vaccine eligibility to some essential workers, like unpaid caregivers, media personnel and construction workers, on April 12, The Temple News reported. The city will then expand eligibility to all city residents who are at least 16 years old on April 19, The Temple News reported.
More than 568,000 Philadelphians are fully vaccinated and more than 338,000 are partially vaccinated as of April 7, according to the city’s vaccine dashboard.
Philadelphia will achieve herd immunity once approximately 80 percent of the city’s population is vaccinated, The Temple News reported.
Health Commissioner Thomas Farley predicted that Philadelphia will reach herd immunity by June, 6ABC reported.
The CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people continue to wear masks and practice social distancing when in public and avoid large in-person gatherings but do not need to wear masks indoors with other fully vaccinated people and do not need to get tested before traveling.
Partially vaccinated people should continue to take all possible precautions until fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Be the first to comment