In coordination with Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, UC Santa Barbara held a one-day mobile vaccination clinic for students on May 6.
Like the May 6 clinic, all mobile clinics are offering the Moderna vaccine, with the option to receive Johnson & Johnson if a one-shot vaccination is preferred. Kaiyi Yang/ Daily Nexus
The first UCSB-hosted mobile clinic ran from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and primarily provided the Moderna vaccine. Students also had the choice to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to Van Do-Reynoso, the Santa Barbara County public health director.
Around 289 students made an appointment to get vaccinated at the clinic via UCSB’s Student Health Service (SHS) Gateway Portal, Do-Reynoso said, but the county equipped the clinic with 200 extra doses for potential walk-ins.
“We’re all about getting shots into arms,” Do-Reynoso said. “There isn’t a waiting list … vaccines are widely available throughout our county. So you should be able to find a vaccine shot anytime, anywhere you are needing to.”
The event, held at Parking Lot 25, was part of a countywide effort to bring mobile vaccination clinics to communities around Santa Barbara, Do-Reynoso said. Like the May 6 clinic, all mobile clinics are offering the Moderna vaccine, with the option to receive Johnson & Johnson if a one-shot vaccination is preferred.
UCSB health leadership had originally reached out to the county to hold the event, Do-Reynoso said, and encouraged other community partners interested in collaborating with the county to host a clinic to reach out on the Public Health Departments’ website.
Smaller mobile clinics like these are designed to remove barriers like transportation issues and concerns over attending large vaccination sites from vaccination, Do-Reynoso said, noting that the community “appreciates the convenience.”
“Offering services like this to all students that are free … and close, especially in I.V., [is] really beneficial. It helps a lot,” fifth-year environmental studies major Ethan Thomas said.
Mckenzie Welsh, a second-year sociology major receiving her second dose of the vaccine at the pop-up clinic, agreed that the site was “really good.”
“The more colleges hosting vaccination sites, the better,” Welsh said.
Do-Reynoso said that she foresees the partnership between UCSB and Santa Barbara Public Health continuing to provide public health services like COVID-19 testing, quarantine and isolation options and vaccinations to UCSB students.
“Getting a vaccine is … the kindest, the most caring and the most responsible thing that any individual can do to protect themselves, their loved ones, their family and their friends. So I want to encourage everyone to get vaccinated,” she said.
