UCOL students, staff, and their whānau have jumped at the opportunity to get their first COVID-19 vaccination at a pop-up clinic at the UCOL Manawatū campus.
Organised in partnership with Well Women’s Clinic, the pop-up was a chance to boost the vaccination roll out within the Manawatū community. Nearly 600 people are set to be vaccinated over the two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), with many families bringing in their children aged 12 to 16 now that the vaccination is available to them.
“We wanted to make it easy for our students, staff, and their whānau to get vaccinated and protect themselves against COVID-19,” says Sylvie Hickton, UCOL’s Health & Safety Manager. “Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways we can keep our community safe, and UCOL wanted to do our bit to help out.”
The event has been in discussion since the start of this year, with dates being confirmed just before the country went into lockdown.
“It’s been going very well. We can accommodate up to 800 people over the two days, so we have also been offering vaccinations to our cleaners, security staff, and contractors who have been on site,” says Hickton.
One UCOL staffer getting their vaccination was Dr Dorota Starzak, Applied Science Lecturer, along with her husband.
“Getting vaccinated is a social responsibility and the best thing you can do as an individual right now,” says Starzak.
“It’s great to have a pop-up clinic on campus and awesome to be able to bring our whānau along so we can all get vacinated together.”
Everyone will return for their follow up vaccination in six weeks. A vaccination clinic has already been run at UCOL’s Whanganui campus, and clinics are being organised for UCOL’s Wairarapa and Horowhenua campuses.