Scott Flanagin is the executive director of communications for the Division of Student Affairs. He has been in this position with the University for 15 years.
The emotions overwhelmed me when I got the second email on a Friday afternoon.
“You have been booked for the University of Arkansas Employee – COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at 01/23/2021 2:30 p.m….”
The first email was a survey from the University seeking my interest in getting vaccinated. I replied in the affirmative within 90 seconds. I’ve been working from home since March 2020, and by the time I get my second vaccine it will have been almost one full year living what so many people now know as the “WFH Life.”
The campus is following Arkansas Department of Health guidance to prioritize eligible employees to receive the limited number of vaccines, providing vaccination opportunities for older members (70+) of the campus community first, but has now reached out to other groups.
I was more than ready for the vaccine. My wife, Jackie, has a transplanted kidney and therefore is immunocompromised, so it’s safe to say that we have taken this COVID virus very seriously, doing all the things – staying home, masking up. And we’ve worried about what getting COVID might do. My wife is in the 1-C group for vaccinations and those folks can’t even start getting vaccinated until April.
So, when I got the email, I was both ecstatic, but also feeling guilty – my wife should be vaccinated before me and so should my parents who are in their 70s. And here I am getting the first vaccination in the family. But I embraced the ecstasy and what my wife told me, “Someone in this family needs to start getting immunity!”
Also, I really miss my colleagues and being with students on campus. Working from home has been productive, but it has all blurred into that COVID life – What month is it? What day is it? What time is it? I’m ready to get back to campus and my office and working with people in-person, not on a computer screen.
I’ve seen some vaccination clinics on TV, and they don’t always look well organized with some people waiting all day to get a shot, or just to be turned away because they ran out of vaccine. I was somewhat skeptical that the U of A could pull it off much better. Boy, was I wrong. It was smooth, like butter. University staff, pharmacists from Collier’s Drugs and U of A Nursing students working to administer the vaccines had it all down to an art.
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It pretty much went just like this – After showing my 2:30 appointed clinic invitation to security stationed outside Don. W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, I walked into the SEC Club at 2:15 p.m. Showed the crew waiting there my papers and ID’s. Moved to the next station where they checked those again and made sure I had all the paperwork filled out. At 2:21 I sat down in a chair to wait for my turn. At 2:24 I got my vaccination! Moved to waiting/observation for 15 minutes to make sure I didn’t have an allergic reaction, and I was all done and back in my car by 3 p.m.
Now that’s the way to do a vaccination clinic! And in the awesome SEC Club. The atmosphere was not electric like a game-day, but the good vibes were palpable. Smiling eyes above all the masks, colleagues happily talking who haven’t seen each other in person in months, and all of us holding onto our new COVID-19 vaccination cards, what I’m calling my “Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free-Card!”
I actually felt great afterwards. Now that was probably just the Adrenalin rush and my feelings of relief that I was on my way to being safer and getting back to a more normal life. My arm got a bit sore, and was very sore the next day, even more so than a flu shot. But within 2 days that went away, and I had no other side-effects.
“At this point, all employees aged 50 and above have been contacted about available opportunities at least once,” said Mark Rushing, associate vice chancellor for University Relations. “By January 25, approximately 1,000 employees (aged 50 and up) had received their first dose of vaccine through university opportunities, including large on-campus clinics. More employees will be offered appointments as additional opportunities become available.”
Now I’m waiting my 21 days for that second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I will be just as excited to get that as the first, probably even more so.
Read more about how the University is handling vaccinations on campus on Arkansas Newswire.
