ASU hosted a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination event at the Student Pavilion on the Tempe campus Wednesday in an effort to get students vaccinated before the spring semester ends.
The event administered the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for ASU students only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to a press release from the University Tuesday.
An appointment was not required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the site. Student IDs are the only item needed to receive a vaccine at the site, according to the press release.
The pop-up vaccine site is a test run for potential vaccine distribution in the future, said Aaron Krasnow, associate vice president of ASU Health Services and Counseling Services. If the event is successful, the University will implement more pop-up sites in the summer and fall, he said.
"We want to vaccinate as many people as possible," Krasnow said. "We have enough vaccine, I'm confident, for anybody who wants one today."
Krasnow said the decision to host the vaccination event was made Tuesday.
"This event doesn't increase accessibility, it is not the only way to get the vaccine," Krasnow said. "We're just trying a pop-up event to try and generate some buzz and excitement and give another convenient way to get a vaccine (to students)."
Students can register to receive a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at ASU Health Services across all four campuses by signing in on the ASU Health Portal and making an appointment to receive a vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, he said, were received over the past several weeks from the state and county and are now being administered again to students after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Drug Administration ended their recommended pause of the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine last week.
According to the CDC, women under the age of 50 "should be aware of the rare risk of blood clots with low platelets after vaccination, and that other COVID-19 vaccines are available where this risk has not been seen." Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, unlike other federally approved COVID-19 vaccines, requires just one dose and was 66.3% effective in clinical trials, according to the CDC.
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced Tuesday state-run sites will no longer require people to schedule appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
“We want our students to return home for the summer with peace of mind and in this busy final week of the semester, we wanted to do something to make it as easy as possible to get vaccinated against the COVID virus,” said Joanne Vogel, vice president of Student Services, in the press release. “Take your finals, pack your stuff, get your vaccination, and then head for home.”
Reach the reporter at wmyskow@asu.edu and follow @wmyskow on Twitter.
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Wyatt Myskow is the project manager at The State Press, where he oversees enterprise stories for the publication. He also works at The Arizona Republic, where he covers the cities of Peoria and Surprise.
