As we soar into the second month of 2021, we are beginning to witness the effects of a medical miracle, the likes of which we have not seen since the Salk Vaccine of 1955. Finally, American citizens are becoming vaccinated against COVID-19, the deadly disease that has plagued our entire planet for nearly a year. Even more exciting is the fact that our very own Viterbo University will be throwing its hat into the ring as it is officially a COVID-19 vaccine vaccination site.
Since January 25, 2021, our humble university has been hard at work injecting our campus community with the Pfizer vaccine and it is all thanks to the Director of Health Services at Viterbo University, Sue Danielson. Months ago, Danielson committed herself to filing all sorts of paperwork to persuade the State Department of Health to give the university the rights and resources to administer the vaccine. Eventually, Danielson’s request was met.
In order to administer the vaccines, the university’s health services first needed a special freezer capable of keeping the vaccines between negative 60 degrees and negative 80 degrees Celsius. Along with the freezer, the university needed a new card reader and security cameras to make sure they were being kept safe. The vaccine is somewhat volatile, meaning that a thawed vaccine will expire in five days. Viterbo community members need not worry though, as Danielson assured, “You don’t waste vaccine. You put it in a warm body. We will not waste vaccine.”
While the shot itself is self-explanatory, the guidelines surrounding it are a little more complex. Every state must adhere to a set of vaccination phases determined by the United States Center for Disease Control. As of the writing of this article, Wisconsin is still in phase 1A which consists of people in a frontline clinical setting, campus security, and people age 65 and older, according to Danielson, the progression of the phases is “a guessing game,” though she estimates we will be moving into phase 1B sometime around the first of March.
When a member of the Viterbo community goes to get vaccinated, they can expect to be treated by either Danielson, a part-time nurse, or one of five senior nursing students from our university. After receiving the first dose, the patient will be monitored by the staff for a while with a specifically hired contact tracer keeping track of the local community’s health. Three weeks later, the patient must return for a second dose of the shot in order to receive its full effects.
The shot itself is known as an mRNA vaccine. This particular kind of vaccine develops antibodies that will assist the body in fending off the virus. While it is still possible to contract the virus, the vaccine makes it much less likely. Unfortunately, the vaccine has the potential to leave you with a sore arm or low-grade fever, but Danielson reassures people that such is the case with any vaccination. After all, as Danielson said, “you’re putting a needle into someone’s muscle.”
The unfortunate part of administering a lifesaving vaccine during a global pandemic is that supply often cannot meet demand. Danielson shared, “I asked for 150, I got 65.” La Crosse does have multiple vaccination sites across town, such as the Mayo Clinic, Gunderson Health System, and Weber Health Center, but there is only so much vaccine to go around.
Since the vaccine is in such short supply, Danielson encourages everybody to remain patient throughout this process. Though Danielson cannot make any promises regarding the number of students who will be vaccinated, she says her team “wants to make sure everyone can get the vaccine before they go home” at the end of the semester. When asked how long it will take to get every student a vaccination, she claimed, “This whole thing is going to take months.” Luckily, there are two other vaccines that are currently in the process of being approved for emergency purposes.
The most important thing Danielson can recommend is to “just be informed.” She is well aware that there is a lot of misinformation going around. Danielson dispelled many rumors about the vaccine. For instance, the vaccine contains no stem cells, is incapable of giving you the virus, and, most surprisingly, does not contain a secret 5G chip that allows Bill Gates to control your brain and force you to join his robot allegiance. Danielson recommends that people with doubts read the FAQ section on the Viterbo Health Services website. The battle against COVID-19 is not over, but thanks to Danielson and her team, an end is finally in sight
