IU Students Look Off Campus for COVID-19 Vaccines

Starting March 31, Hoosiers sixteen and older were eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Assembly Hall offers the Pfizer Vaccine to IU students and the community. However, the popularity of this vaccination station has made it tricky for some IU students to get appointments before their graduation.

This vaccine site is so popular there is currently a wait list. If you want to add your name to the waitlist for vaccines at IU’s Assembly Hall, click here.

IU senior Connor Hines wasn’t able to get an appointment before May at Assembly Hall. He wanted to be safe before his family came to Indiana for graduation. Luckily, Indiana has more than 700 vaccine sites. So, the Hoosier took a road trip to Franklin, Indiana.

Connor Hines – IU senior.

Hines received this first dose of  the Moderna Vaccine. There is a twenty-eight day waiting period in between vaccines. He will receive his next shot in the coming weeks.

Hines is not the only IU student who looked elsewhere to find a vaccine before graduation. IU senior Olivia Nash took a drive to Sullivan, Indiana to receive her shot of the Johnson and Johnson. She received her vaccine at a Walmart. Nash experienced some side effects from this vaccine.

Olivia Nash – IU senior.

These side effects are completely normal to experience with any of the vaccines.  Health officials say it is important to know that vaccines are safe and they are needed in order to get the world through this pandemic.

Many experience symptoms similar to COVID-19 in order not contract or spread the actual infection that has killed more than 560,000 Americans.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is 66.8% effective. It is the only one-shot vaccine to protect against Covid-19. Many students opted to get this vaccine in order to not have to get multiple shots and to be fully vaccinated by the time their families come for the commencement ceremony. However, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been put on a break from being injected. The vaccine could possibly be linked to six women getting blood clots after receiving the vaccination. 

The women’s ages range for 18-48.  The vaccine has been given to 7 million Americans. There are still only six cases of these severe blood clot complications.  One patient has died and another is in critical care. This condition is extremely rare. The pause for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine distribution is temporary and precautionary.

Although this complication is rare, it is still important to look for these symptoms if you have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the last month.

  • Severe headache
  • Abdominal pain
  • Leg pain
  • Shortness of breath

 

 

 

There are still two options for Hoosiers to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer and the Moderna. Each of these vaccines require two shots. There is a waiting period before the second shot is injected.

For more information on covid vaccines visit this site. To schedule your shot call 211 or visit the Indiana Department of Health.