CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- About 200 Northwestern University students stayed up late Saturday night to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Northwestern University Vice President for Operations Luke Figora said the University received notice at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday night that hundreds of Pfizer doses were due to expire at 7 a.m. Sunday. The doses were being offered to Northwestern through a local public health department that had excess doses at the end of the night.
The health department said the University could have the vaccines, if it could commit to using them before they expired; therefore, Northwestern said they hosted a late-night clinic.
A team of 13 people set up the late-night clinic, including staff from Student Affairs, Residential Services, Health Services, the COVID Response Team and trainers from Athletics. Residential Services sent an email to all students living in residence halls, and the Athletics trainers sent a note to student athletes to ensure all slots were filled.
According to Northwestern, the first student was vaccinated at midnight and shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, all of the roughly 200 doses were administered.
“It was a fantastic team effort to pull this off,” Figora said. “When I got the call about the doses, I was skeptical that we would be able to find providers to administer them at such short notice, and at an inconvenient time for staff who have families.”
In all, Northwestern said 197 students and one staff member were vaccinated at the overnight clinic at Norris University Center. Everyone who received their first dose at the clinic will be able to get their second dose through the University as well.
Related
