1,100 Vaccinated at Caltech's First COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

On Friday, March 19, Caltech held its first COVID-19 clinic for vaccine-eligible students, faculty, postdocs, and staff, as well as their family members. The clinic was a key step in facilitating equitable access to the vaccine and ensuring that all eligible members of the community who want to be vaccinated are given that opportunity.

In partnership with Vons Pharmacy, and with the help of some 30 volunteers from the Caltech community, the Institute was able to deliver first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to approximately 1,100 individuals, including 200 employees who work at JPL and a number of eligible community members and private school educators from around Pasadena.

"Our volunteers and the Vons staff ended up working later than expected, but we were able to deliver all the extra shots that Vons brought to campus," says Steve Atlee, chair of the Vaccine Working Group and Caltech's deputy general counsel. "This is a testament not only to those on the working group and across campus who did the heavy lifting in planning and preparing for the clinic, but also to each and every volunteer whose phenomenal attitude, enthusiasm, and good humor put the vaccine recipients at ease."

The Institute will hold a second-shot clinic on Friday, April 9; information on scheduling appointments for that clinic was provided to vaccine recipients before they left the first-shot clinic. Those who have questions about scheduling an appointment or about the clinic should send them to [email protected].

The Institute asks that all members of the campus community report their current vaccination status, as well as any future changes to that status, via the Caltech COVID-19 Reporting Application. The information will help inform the Institute's pandemic-response planning effort, including considerations regarding on-campus operations.