HOUSTON – The University of Houston began vaccinating 1,000 students and faculty in phase 1A, who visit patients through clinical settings.
“I have a lot of family in healthcare, my parents are older so I want to do what I can to make sure everyone’s safe,” said Mylynn Dang.
Dang is a student in the School of Optometry.
“It felt really good. It’s a nice piece of mind,” said Laura Long.
Long is a graduate student in clinical psychology.
“I want to make sure my patients are safe. I do work with elderly patients, so I think it’s important to get the vaccine, so I don’t put people who at a higher risk at even more risk,” said Long.
Both students were vaccinated at the University of Houston under phase 1-A.
“It includes our College of Medicine, our College of Nursing, our College of Pharmacy, College of Optometry and some of our Social Sciences,” said Suzy Harrington, Assistant VP of Student Affairs, Heath & Well-Being.
The university teamed with Walgreens to administer 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
“What excited me was that there’s such a strong interest and positive reaction towards the vaccine,” said Harrington.
All appointments were full in a day. As supply increases nationwide, the University of Houston hopes to bring more to their community.
“If you want to do what’s best for the society and best for your family and your friends, I think this is the first step at getting back to a normal life,” said Dang.
The university has a waitlist for students and faculty included in Phase 1B.
It’s requesting more doses from the state and hopes to have another vaccination clinic in two weeks.