Students and faculty in the Walla Walla University School of Nursing received the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. The vaccination clinic was held at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington, and included nursing students and faculty from Walla Walla Community College.

WWU nursing students and faculty on the university’s Portland, Oregon, campus will be vaccinated in Portland in coordination with Adventist Medical Center and other clinical sites in the area.

“As our faculty and students participate in front line care as part of their clinical learning, they are at an increased risk for exposure and COVID infection. Vaccinating our nursing students helps protect those they care for, those they interact with on campus, and of course themselves. They are the future of nursing!” said Kari Firestone, WWU professor of nursing, associate dean of the School of Nursing, and WWU COVID-19 response director.

Nursing faculty from WWU and WWCC staffed the vaccination clinic in coordination with Providence St. Mary nursing staff. “This helped to decrease the care burden of the staff at Providence, allowing them to continue to provide the patient care and normal daily health services,” said Firestone.

Providence St. Mary supplied the vaccines after working with the pharmacist that is overseeing the vaccine distribution plan in the Walla Walla area. A Providence St. Mary nurse educator coordinated the clinic. Firestone said this joint effort is an illustration of the positive partnership between clinical providers and both schools of nursing in the Walla Walla Valley.

The second dose of the vaccine will be administered to nursing students and faculty in Walla Walla on Feb. 3.

The Washington State Department of Health has distributed a vaccine distribution chart that outlines a timeline for various groups in Washington state to receive the vaccine.

— Kim Strobel is Walla Walla University Relations supervisor.