UConn Health

April 1, 2021 | Jennifer Walker - UConn Health

UConn Health Helps Distribute More COVID Vaccines throughout the State

UConn Health is helping provide access to State of CT residents to obtain COVID-19 vaccines by partnering with UConn to open more community clinics and with FEMA and the State to provide vaccines through the FEMA Mobile Vaccine Unit later this month.

On left, UConn Health Registered Nurse, Savannah Jaspering administers the COVID-19 vaccine while at the Hawley Armory in Storrs last spring

UConn Health Registered Nurse Savannah Jaspering administers the COVID-19 vaccine while at the Hawley Armory in Storrs last spring (UConn Photo).

UConn Health, in partnership with UConn Storrs, has transitioned the clinic currently located at Hawley Armory to a mass vaccination center for both the University community and the general public. The Storrs-based vaccine site opened its doors on March 29 for those eligible to be vaccinated.

“The more people we can vaccinate, the better for everyone,” said Sarah Tessier, clinical practice manager in internal medicine at UConn Health, who manages the Hawley Armory vaccination site.

According to Tessier, about 250 people were vaccinated on day one alone at the site Monday. They are slowly ramping up numbers based on supply and by the end of the week hope to be vaccinating about 400 people a day.

Two more mobile van unit clinics will soon open on UConn campuses at both Stamford (4/9) and Avery Point (4/16).

Appointments are required in advance. Any eligible person can create a MyChart account and sign up online for a vaccination appointment. Note, appointment availability is based on the current vaccine supply. Also, UConn Health’s COVID-19 Phone Scheduling line is 860-679-5589.

 FEMA’s first-in-the-nation mobile vaccination unit on the way

Connecticut was selected by FEMA to be the first state in the country to receive a COVID-19 mobile vaccination unit, which consists of a mobile trailer. UConn Health, along with Hartford Healthcare, Trinity Health, and Griffin Hospital, has been chosen to participate in this program.

The mobile unit will be on loan to the state for the next 60 days and it will be deployed to targeted communities based on their social vulnerability index. UConn Health has been assigned to the Mobile Vaccination Unit in four towns for nine days beginning at the end of April and running through the beginning of May.

As part of this mobile initiative, UConn Health will engage its students and other learners to help in the state’s mass vaccination efforts. Students from the UConn Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and in our Public Health Sciences department, as well as our medical and dental residents, are volunteering to support the FEMA Mobile Vaccine Unit.

For the latest updates, check UConn Health’s COVID Vaccine Program website.