The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 91, Issue 11

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021 • VOLUME 91 • ISSUE 11

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

ARTWORK CONTRIBUTED BY SATINE BERNTSEN

Local Art Corner:

Satine Berntsen P.7

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

NEWS P.2: SPRING DINING CHANGES A new station, director and mobile ordering app are among dining changes this semester

PHOTO BY KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES

OPINION P.4: THE SUPER BOWL STORY THAT TRANSCENDS THE FIELD The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl with one of the most diverse staffs in history

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE (2020)

SPORTS P. 10: SPORTS ON PAUSE Quinnipiac women’s basketball has played 14 games this year, but other teams aren’t so lucky

Thousands of healthcare students vaccinated

By CHATWAN MONGKOL Associate News Editor

As COVID-19 vaccines in Connecticut started to roll out, around 2,000 Quinnipiac University health sciences students are among the top priority to be vaccinated, COVID-19 Task Force Senior Medical Adviser Dr. David Hill said. Phase 1a of the vaccine rollout began in early January for healthcare personnel, longterm care facility residents and medical first responders. Students in physical assistance, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing and medical programs are eligible in the first phase. “The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has set up a system called the vaccine administration management system, VAMS, so we uploaded (healthcare students’) names and that allowed them to make their appointments,” Hill said. “I think most of our students in that initial cohort should have been vaccinated.” Among those qualified, junior nursing major Renata Abiali said the vaccine gives her another level of security for her med-surg and pediatrics clinical. “PPE (personal protective equipment) and distancing are effective, but having the vaccine is the next level of prevention and care,” Abiali said. “It makes walking into clinical more calming. I can interact with patients without feeling worried.”

Nursing students who are not practicing in a clinical setting like sophomore Karenna Downs are also qualified for the vaccine. “My immediate reaction was pure relief,” Downs said. “I knew this would mean I, myself, would be one step closer to a stronger immune system against the virus, but I also knew I’d be doing my part to reaching herd immunity.” Both Abiali and Downs got their first dosage of the Moderna vaccine last month. They faced similar side effects including arm soreness, fatigue and headaches. Downs said nothing was too serious. Abiali also said those symptoms are expected after the vaccination. Another sophomore nursing major, Helen Tran, has already received two doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine through her job as she works as a neighborhood resident assistant at McLean, a senior resident center in Simsbury, Connecticut. The vaccine committee at her workplace provided her with information. “I was excited, and (the committee) seemed to be working very hard to make it happen,” Tran said. “I had to make an appointment because the vaccine committee would call me, and it would say like this is your first appointment and I had to show up.” Tran received her first dose on Jan. 6. “My arm was a little bit sore, and there

was a bruise on the second day, which was new because I never had a bruise for a vaccine before,” Tran said. “But it didn’t really bother me, I didn’t get any headaches and I wasn’t tired, so I was pretty surprised, because I do get headaches usually.” Even though the first dose did not affect how Tran functioned throughout the day, she had a cold at the end of the day after she got her second dose on Jan. 27. She knew chills were going to be a side effect, but she did not know how cold she would get. “When I was sleeping, I wore three socks, three pants, four shirts (and) a hat. And I even wore gloves or hand warmers inside,” Tran said. “That was like how cold I was, and I’ve never been so cold my entire life.” Besides having trouble waking up the next morning, Tran said the cold lasted only one night. Despite the 95% effective rate of Pfizer vaccine and 94.1% of Moderna vaccine, Quinnipiac national poll revealed that only 20% of Americans are very confident in the federal government’s ability to oversee the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Tran got the vaccine without doubting its safety or effectiveness. She said that was because she has no allergic reactions, but she said she would question it for her brother who has a lot of allergies.

“We’re looking at 95% protection, that’s really great,” Hill said. “That’s as good as any vaccine we have out there and probably betSee VACCINE Page 2

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY KARENNA DOWNS

Students in healthcare programs are eligible to recieve the COVID-19 vaccine in the first phase.


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