January 15, 2021 | Downers Grove, IL
College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove student Adaora Ogbuefi administers the COVID-19 vaccine at the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.
Students at Midwestern University’s College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove Campus were among the first in the nation to begin distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare workers. As part of their comprehensive pharmacy education, Midwestern University students participate in a variety of clinical rotations at local hospitals and care centers. As the vaccine became available in December 2020, Midwestern University pharmacy students on clinical rotations had the opportunity to administer the vaccine.
The students are grateful for the opportunity to help combat the virus and aware of the important role they have as part of the healthcare team. “It felt great to be a part of history. It made me appreciate the critical role that pharmacists play in providing healthcare in general, and particularly, at such a critical time with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Adaora Ogbuefi, a fourth-year pharmacy student who worked with her colleagues to administer more than 100 COVID-19 vaccinations per hour at the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, IL. “Midwestern University prepared me for this moment through workshops where we were taught the correct way to administer vaccines. Most recently, I got more practice administering the flu vaccine through my ambulatory care rotation. Little did I know at the time that I would be needing this skill to administer lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines,” she added.
Other Midwestern University students in their final years of study and clinical faculty members from the College of Pharmacy have also participated in the nationwide effort to provide the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, Midwestern University continues with its preparation and plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our campus community as well as the community-at-large at both the Glendale, Arizona and Downers Grove, Illinois Multispecialty Clinics. The University has received approval of our application to be a public health partner with the local municipalities and is awaiting further information and details about when the process will begin.