Averett University hosted a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on campus Friday morning, April 23. It was the first vaccination clinic hosted on the University’s Main Campus.
Exactly 50 individuals received their first or second doses of the Moderna vaccine during the clinic, which were administered by Averett nursing students.
Event organizer and Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness Executive Director Dr. Billy Wooten said 23 non-clinical and seven clinical volunteers made the event possible.
Chatham, Va. community member Virginia Adkins received her first vaccine during the clinic. The 97-year-old recently overcame COVID-19.
Sitting in a chair at the top of Averett’s Pritchett Auditorium in the Violet T. Frith Fine Arts Center, Adkins waited patiently as Averett senior nursing student Cassidy Elliott made her way to her to administer the shot.
Elliott promised Adkins the shot would be quick as she wiped her arm with an alcohol wipe. She flipped the cap off the needle, administered the shot as Adkins looked away and the first of two Moderna vaccines was complete for Adkins.
“You did so good, here’s you a lollipop,” Adkins’ granddaughter Tericha Walton said. “She had the virus about five months ago. She breezed through it like it was a regular cold.”
Walton noted her grandmother would have received it sooner, but she had to be cleared before getting it.
Averett senior D’ante Lambright also received his shot Friday. The football player majoring in criminal justice and psychology said he decided to get the shot to keep those at home in Virginia Beach safe.
“I chose to just because I’m going back home soon, and I want to keep my family and friends safe,” Lambright said.
Averett Flight Instructor Will Ashworth ’19 also received the vaccine Friday ahead of international travel this summer.
“I chose to get my shot because I will be traveling internationally this summer. The shot will make it easier for travel instead of having to be tested constantly,” Ashworth said. While he never got tested, he was certain he had COVID-19 at some point.
“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic and partnership with the Virginia Department of Health. Averett volunteers made this event possible. We want to encourage anyone who has not already done so to go ahead and get vaccinated,” Wooten said.
A second vaccination clinic is set for Friday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to noon in Pritchett Auditorium.
Averett hosted the region’s first large-scale vaccination event in January on its E. Stuart James Grant North Campus, with a second-round clinic that followed in February. More than 1,300 people were vaccinated at that event.
