After a call went out from the New York Governor’s Office looking for students in health fields to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations in their communities, students in Clarkson University’s Physician Assistant Program quickly volunteered to help. Clarkson joined forces with St. Lawrence Health System’s (SLHS) Infectious Disease team to run and staff a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic in St. Lawrence County.
The clinic went live on Wednesday, January 6, led by SLHS PA Kylie Broughal ‘18 and three Clarkson 3rd year PA students. The team administered COVID-19 vaccinations at several intermediate care facilities in Madrid, Massena, Norwood, and Potsdam. SLHS will be conducting its next mobile clinic in Gouverneur.
“Despite the devastation of COVID-19, it is a bit bittersweet but exciting to know our alumni and current students are getting to participate in what is developing medical history. It brings us back to the heart of our program, community service,” said Joan Caruso, Chair of the Clarkson PA Program.
“It was truly rewarding to be able to directly be involved in vaccinating those in our community who need it most, and to be able to do that with an incredible team of students was wonderful,” Ms. Broughal said. “Also we simply cannot overstate how important it is for as many people as possible to be vaccinated. The more people who get the vaccine, the better we are able to protect those who can’t get it due to underlying conditions.”
For updated information on the New York State-determined phases of vaccine distribution, visit https://stlawrencehealthsystem.org/covid-19.
