Collected Item: “Volunteering at the University of Arizona Vaccine POD”
Give your story a title.
Volunteering at the University of Arizona Vaccine POD
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
photograph
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
The University of Arizona ran a drive-thru and walk-up vaccine POD for six months in 2021. During that time they provided more than 240,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Southern Arizona community. I volunteered at the POD for 10 shifts between February 2021 and May 2021, helping with traffic control to get as many cars safely through the stations, with observation to ensure everyone was okay after receiving their vaccine, and with registration to help get information all ready for the nurses giving the vaccine. It was great to be a part of the solution and helping people protect themselves and other community members. One woman, while waiting to get her shot, told me how excited she was to be able to hug her grandchildren again. She started crying because she was so relieved to see her family and feel safe doing it. It was a great atmosphere at the University of Arizona and everyone was working together for each other. Something I will never forget and that I'm proud to have been a part of. The photo is from my first shift in the observation area on the Mall, waiting for the POD to open and line cars up for observation post-vaccine.
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
UArizona, UAPOD, vaccines, Arizona
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Kelly Prevenas
Give this story a date.
2021-02-25