Temple Opens COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

WEDNESDAYS WILL BE RESERVED FOR TEMPLE STUDENTS AND FACULTY, WHILE THURSDAYS WILL BE RESERVED FOR CITY RESIDENTS

Temple’s vaccination clinic on Main Campus is up and running. The site, located at White Hall, will operate twice a week for the next six weeks. From 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m, about 515 shots will be given each day.

The clinic will vaccinate Temple students, faculty, and staff on Wednesdays, and city residents on Thursdays. The addition of the site on campus comes as part of the City’s effort to increase vaccine accessibility to underserved communities.

Temple has partnered with the City of Philadelphia to provide several hundred doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine each week.

Director of Health Services Mark Denys says you must fill out an interest form for an appointment, as there will be no walk-ups. Denys says priority will be given to those in phase 1A.

“There are some students, faculty, staff in 1A, so those folks will be prioritized first,” Denys said. “And then folks in 1B. And if they all answer the same question right, we’re going to go by order of age.”

When people first come in, they are required to check in and verify their appointment. Next they will have to complete a screening form and discuss their demographic information with a clinic worker. After the screening is complete, you’re good to go. 

The clinic currently has six stations available for administering the vaccine and can add more if necessary.

After you get your shot, everyone is required to stay for post-vaccine monitoring – but unlike most clinics, you get to stay in a dorm room. 

Due to space limits, about 35 beds will be available for people to stay for a timed 15 or 30 minutes after they get vaccinated. 

Once they’re done, everyone must set up their second-dose appointment before they leave. 

Temple counselor Setrag Shahikian was among the first to get vaccinated on Wednesday. He says the process went very smoothly. 

“Very organized. Honestly I gotta say, very organized, they really thought out every step of the process,” he said. “No complaints, they did a great job and I look forward to my second shot.”

Temple spokesperson Ray Betzner says Temple hopes to expand the vaccine supply if the City gets more doses. They are also considering opening additional vaccine clinics in larger spaces once they become available at the end of the semester. 

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