Rebekah Pipes

Razorback Vaccine Rollouts Web Copy

After a year since the state first responded to the pandemic, all Arkansans age 16 or older
are now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
The Pat Walker Health Center administers covid-19 vaccines to students, faculty, and staff.
With the high demand, many UofA students who work at local businesses are unsure when they
can get their shots. Caitlin Boeker, an employee at a store in the Fayetteville square, has
experienced this difficulty. Boeker expressed to me in an interview that she is frustrated with not
being able to get the vaccine sooner, “especially, since they’re talking about lifting the mask
mandates has really been stressing me out because then I’m going to have tens of hundreds of
people come through the store and I’m just being exposed to that now and I haven't even gotten
the chance to get vaccinated.” The mask mandate is lifted for the state, but private businesses can
still implement their own restrictions and guidelines. For the city of Fayetteville, masks are
required to be worn in public gatherings and businesses.
Chancellor Steinmetz told me in a Zoom meeting that the University of Arkansas will
continue to get shipments of vaccines throughout the coming months. The Chancellor said his
goal “is to get, by the end of the semester, everybody that’s in that 1-B group; faculty, staff,
graduate students vaccinated and then begin the process of vaccinating the rest of our student
body as we can.” And that’s just what he did. With the state opening the eligibility requirements,
almost all members of the U of A community can now get vaccinated. Nursing students are
among the majority of those administering the vaccines on campus. Steinmetz received his
vaccine earlier in the semester and says, “I really have to say what a great job the nursing
students did who was a big part of the vaccine clinics that we did on campus.” Grace Murphy is
among the group of student nurses administering the vaccine.
Murphy feels more of a reward giving the covid-19 to patients than she has when she’s
given other vaccines such as the flu vaccine, “People are more excited so it's kind of different,
and it makes our job more rewarding cause it makes us one step closer to being done.” One of
the most memorable parts of her semester is when Murphy got the opportunity to give her own
dad the covid vaccine. Murphy says it was an awesome moment because she said “I never
thought I’d be giving my parents shots of any kind, let alone the covid vaccine. It’s cool cause
my mom already got her shot because she’s a teacher, so finally, it was his turn. I was just glad
that I got to be a part of it.” The Chancellor hopes the UofA will have another mass vaccine
clinic soon within this semester where another “thousand or more people can receive the covid
vaccine.”
Students are encouraged to check the Pat Walker website for any updates regarding
vaccinations, testing, and to make appointments.