Temple University will begin to administer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible students, faculty and staff at White Hall on March 31 and city residents on April 1, said Mark Denys, director of Student Health Services.
The vaccination site will be open two days a week for six weeks, with students, faculty and staff receiving shots on Wednesdays and Philadelphia residents receiving them on Thursdays, Denys said.
Temple will receive 1,100 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the city each week, Denys said. Roughly half the doses will go to students, faculty and staff, while the other half will go to city residents, he added.
The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Temple on Tuesday, and Denys expects to use all 1,100 doses each week, he said.
To receive a COVID-19 vaccine, students, faculty, staff and city residents must be eligible for a vaccine under Phase 1B, which includes first responders, people aged 65 years or older, people working or residing in congregate settings and people with high-risk medical conditions, The Temple News reported.
Temple announced the invitation-only vaccination program in an email to students, faculty and staff yesterday, The Temple News reported. Those eligible and interested in receiving the vaccine from Temple must fill out an interest form prior to the university contacting them.
Temple will administer first doses of the Pfizer vaccine for three weeks at the White Hall site. The university will then switch to administering second doses, Denys said.
The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses at least 21 days apart. Temple is only administering the Pfizer vaccine, the two other vaccines are approved for emergency use in the United States are the Moderna vaccine, which requires two doses at least 28 days apart, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If vaccine supply from the city continues to be available, Temple could open up larger vaccination sites after the six-week clinic at White Hall closes, Denys said.
“There are additional spaces on campus that may open up for us to be able to potentially do larger clinics in the future,” Denys said.
At the White Hall site, six Student Health Services staffers, nurses and physicians will administer vaccines, while 25 additional volunteers will assist with the logistics of the site, like monitoring those who receive the vaccination for 15 minutes, Denys said.
When arriving to receive their vaccine, students, faculty, staff and residents will first check in at White Hall to confirm they have a scheduled appointment, Denys said. Then, they will register in one of the hall’s lobbies before getting vaccinated in one of the lounges.
After receiving the vaccine, volunteers will observe students, faculty, staff and residents in a residence hall room to ensure they don’t have a reaction to it, Denys said.
To mitigate symptoms, students, faculty, staff and residents should drink fluids, rest and take a Tylenol if they have a fever, Denys said.
Common side effects from the Pfizer vaccine include tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills and fever, according to the CDC.
Until Philadelphia achieves herd immunity, when 80 percent of the city population is vaccinated, people still need to take precautions like wearing masks, maintaining social distance and avoiding large gatherings, Denys said.
As of March 22, Philadelphia has partially vaccinated 459,131 people and fully vaccinated 179,089 people, The Temple News reported.
Approximately 2,108 per 10,000 residents in the ZIP code 19121 and 2,210 per 10,000 in 19122 have been partially vaccinated against COVID-19, The Temple News reported.
“Nothing should change in the way [vaccinated people] interact with others,” Denys said.
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