Great success was had at the first COVID-19 and Flu vaccine clinic held at the University of Georgia Griffin Campus with a total of 91 vaccinations administered on Thursday, October 28. The drive-thru clinic was held as a partnership between UGA Griffin, UGA Extension, UGA College of Pharmacy and the local U-Save-It Pharmacy to serve the Griffin-Spalding community.
Those taking part had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine – first, second or booster dose- as well as the flu vaccine, and a chance to win two tickets to the November 20 UGA football game against Charleston Southern. Tim Keohone was the lucky winner of the tickets provided by UGA Extension.
The clinic could not have happened without the help of local pharmacist, Nicholas Bland, who is a 2007 graduate of UGA’s College of Pharmacy. He and his team from U-Save-It, which included his wife Loren Bland and colleague Ashlin Spenser, were eager to jump on board to help.
“This event was great and had a great turnout,” said Bland. “I was grateful to be a part of it, and I appreciated the help from all of the staff and students.”
Of the 91 vaccinations administered, 60 were for COVID-19 and 31 were for the flu vaccine. According to Laura Perry Johnson, Associate Dean for Extension, the UGA Griffin clinic was one of the largest vaccination clinics held at any of the University of Georgia extended campuses. Previous clinics have been held in Tifton, Savannah, and Moultrie.
Lori Bledsoe, Program Coordinator for 4-H with Northwest District Extension, was pleased to have so many people take part in the clinic.
“I thought this was a great service to the community for not only the COVID-19 vaccination, but also for the booster and flu shots,” she said. “I appreciate the pharmacist and staff who gave of their time to help out.”
Volunteers for the event included staff from UGA Griffin, UGA Extension and UGA Griffin Student Ambassadors.
“This was certainly a team effort,” said Be-Atrice Cunningham, Project Manager at UGA Griffin. We are thankful to have provided this critical service to our UGA-Griffin family and the local community.”
UGA Griffin is in the process of scheduling another vaccine clinic and more information will be forthcoming.