USC Students and Faculty Join Forces to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines in Los Angeles Communities

Strategic Insights -

Pharmacy students at the University of Southern California's (USC) School of Pharmacy have been playing a crucial role in the fight against COVID-19, administering vaccines to frontline healthcare workers and those in need in Los Angeles' hardest-hit neighborhoods. The initiative, which began in fall 2020, has not only provided essential vaccinations but also served as a bonding experience for the students. Richard Dang, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the USC School of Pharmacy and president-elect of the California Pharmacists Association, spearheaded the effort to distribute free flu vaccines to Angelenos at City of Los Angeles COVID-19 testing sites.

The Vaccine Points of Dispensing (PODs) program, a partnership of L.A. County, the mayor's office, L.A. Fire Department, the nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), and other groups, has used preexisting testing and flu-vaccination sites to deliver COVID-19 inoculations. This program has been instrumental in reaching Black and Latino communities, where test positivity rates have ranged from 23% to 31%. Every day, 30-40 people work at 10 vaccine stations at Lincoln Park, resulting in about 1,000 to 1,200 vaccinations per day.

Key Takeaways:

  • USC pharmacy students and faculty have been administering COVID-19 vaccines to frontline healthcare workers and those in need in Los Angeles' hardest-hit neighborhoods since fall 2020.
  • The Vaccine Points of Dispensing (PODs) program, a partnership of L.A. County, the mayor's office, L.A. Fire Department, the nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), and other groups, has been instrumental in reaching Black and Latino communities.
  • Every day, 30-40 people work at 10 vaccine stations at Lincoln Park, resulting in about 1,000 to 1,200 vaccinations per day.
  • License pharmacists and intern pharmacists prepare doses, perform injections, and closely monitor each vaccine recipient, while other volunteers ensure that everyone qualifies for the shot, screen people for allergic reactions, and fill out vaccination cards.
  • The experience has been a bonding moment for pharmacy students, who have been using their clinical skills together in the same physical space for the first time since starting the program in August 2020.
  • Dozens of pharmacy students signed up to volunteer overnight when the vaccines began arriving in mid-December, demonstrating a sense of urgency and commitment to the cause.

Statistics:

  • 30-40 people work at 10 vaccine stations at Lincoln Park each day, resulting in about 1,000 to 1,200 vaccinations per day.
  • The Vaccine Points of Dispensing (PODs) program has been instrumental in reaching Black and Latino communities, where test positivity rates have ranged from 23% to 31%.
  • Dozens of pharmacy students signed up to volunteer overnight when the vaccines began arriving in mid-December.

Sources:

  • [University of Southern California] - Outdoors at Lincoln Park Recreation Center, across the street from the USC Health Sciences Campus, first-year pharmacy student Gabriela Dutra-Clarke carefully administered a dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to Jeannie Garcia, a certified nursing assistant.
  • [Richard Dang, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the USC School of Pharmacy] - "We're excited to use our pharmacists' and students' expertise in vaccinations and to build upon our experience with our flu vaccine clinics to bring COVID-19 vaccine clinics to the community," Dang said.
  • [Vassilios Papadopoulos, dean of the USC School of Pharmacy] - "This moment calls for teamwork, and everyone is coming together to play their part," says Vassilios Papadopoulos, dean of the USC School of Pharmacy.