Many people in Missouri in phase 1A and phase 1B tier one and two are getting their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and then going back to receive their second. According to NPR.org, 11.6% of Missouri’s population of 6.16 million have received the first dose of the vaccine. 

The PHS students that are in the nursing program at Unitec got the opportunity to help work the clinic located at the Civic Center in Farmington. The clinic has been running since February 4. 

Senior, Chloe Finley is one of the CNA nurses that help with the vaccine clinic. She said, “This clinic would not have been pulled off without the help of the National Guard. They were able to help direct traffic and keep the clinic running smoothly.”

Finley thinks that this opportunity was a great experience. “It showed and reminded me why I wanted to be in the healthcare field and it also reminded me of the joy of being able to simply help people. 

Many people were excited and recorded their shots. Finley said “I witnessed many people taking videos and saying ‘this is history.’”

The nursing program at Unitec offers hands-on experiences like the vaccine clinic. These students would get to go to St. Joe’s nursing home and take people’s blood pressure, use a gait meter, along with other things to help them have hands-on practice for their future profession.

So far over 2,000 people have been vaccinated, over 100 people every hour. The nursing students have been there since day one and they are assisting people to and from the vaccine area and have been filing paperwork. 

Finley was able to get a special job at the clinic. She was able to pass the vaccine out with other CNA nurses and help assist the doctors and other people available to give the vaccine. “I got an interesting job at first. I filled out a card for them with their name and date of birth that said that they will need to come back for their second appointment. I also put a time on their wristband for how long they needed to stay.”

The Unitec students will go back in a couple of weeks to help give the second round of doses to all the people that got the shot the first time around.