UPDATED: First takers at new UO vaccine clinic welcome shots

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Editor's note: UO COVID-19 vaccination clinics are underway. Drop-ins for first dose vaccinations are welcome on Thur., April 29 from 9-11:45 am and 1-4 pm at Autzen Stadium, but doses cannot be guarenteed. More infomation is available on UO vaccine website.

University of Oregon students and employees began arriving early on foot, bicycle and by car for the first of four University of Oregon COVID-19 vaccination clinics April 21 at Autzen Stadium.

“What a fantastic sight this is, seeing our campus community come together like this,” said Krista Dillon, director of operations for the UO’s Safety and Risk Services, as she watched volunteers and student workers tend eager recipients who lined up and waited patiently for their turn. “It’s incredibly gratifying to be able to do this, to be part of the team organizing and running the clinics.”

Heidy Narvaez was one of the first in the walk-up line.

“This is a great opportunity to get access to the vaccine and stop the spreading of the infection,” said Narvaez, a postdoctoral scholar working in biology who said she’s especially appreciative of the clinic. “I’m in the field. … It’s awesome that all of the research around biology contributes somehow to the vaccine. I’m feeling great!”

Four UO clinics are planned and will provide the Pfizer vaccine to 4,600 members of the UO campus community. Individuals 16 and up are now eligible to receive the vaccine. The clinics are being staffed by UO volunteers and a newly hired team of student employees who are working both the UO clinics and Lane County Public Health clinics.

University leaders and the heads of the university’s four major employment groups have been encouraging every member of the UO community to get a vaccination at a UO clinic, through the county or their health care provider. Signups for the free UO clinics are full. The university has created a waitlist and continues to urge anyone seeking a vaccine to sign up through Lane County, which continues to hold clinics every weekend.

“It is fantastic to see so many people here eager to receive the vaccine,” UO President Michael H. Schill said. “It is a sign that we are all invested in doing what we can to create a brighter, safer future. I am also thankful for all of the work of staff to stand up these clinics and have them operate in such an efficient and thoughtful way.”