UCCS to begin vaccinating faculty and staff

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is gearing up for it's first COVID-19 vaccine distribution event on campus for faculty and staff at the end of March.

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health and Wellness, Stephanie Hanenberg, said UCCS received its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine this week, shortly after getting approval from the state to become a distribution site.

After completing a brief trial-run Thursday, the university plans to host its first large-scale vaccination event on March 30th.

"We will have about 980 people that we vaccinate in four hours, because we’re doing a few staff today," Hanenberg said.

All faculty, staff and student employees in direct contact with the public are eligible, under the state's 1B.4 phase, but must register in advance. Hanenberg said their goal is to vaccinate at least 70%.

"There are quite a few people who have already received the vaccine. So, I think we’ll easily hit that 70% with faculty and staff."

However, this is not the first time UCCS has hosted a large-scale clinic, after vaccinating more than 500 people against the H1N1 flu several years ago.

"There are a lot of similarities with flow and where we need to position people and the layout of the room. So, that came in handy as we were designing all of this."

Hanenberg said she is currently training the 100 volunteers needed to distribute doses, including most of the university's senior nursing students.

"It’s a great opportunity for them to learn about community health on a very large scale."

The university is hopeful the vaccinations will allow for a return to normalcy in the fall.

"The hope is that the majority of classes can come back on campus. What capacity will look like is still up in the air, depending on if we reach herd immunity, what happens with the variant and how many people we can put in each class."

Once students become eligible for the vaccine, the university plans to host additional clinics during the summer, before fall semester begins.