News Byte: NYITCOM-Arkansas Continues COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

Pictured: Fourth-year medical student Niki Shah administers a COVID-19 vaccine.

A collective effort from Northeast Arkansas organizations resulted in the administration of 1,662 COVID-19 vaccines at a community event on March 6 in Jonesboro. NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine-Arkansas (NYITCOM-Arkansas) joined the City of Jonesboro, the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas State University, NEA Baptist Health System, St. Bernards Healthcare, UAMS, The Hispanic Center of Jonesboro, Emerson Ambulance Service, and Medic One Ambulance to administer vaccines to people, many of whom would not have had the opportunity to receive one.

“We came together not as individual groups, but as individuals with the common goal of stopping this pandemic in our region and fighting back on the devastating effects we’ve all seen this virus can cause,” said Shane Speights, D.O., site dean of NYITCOM-Arkansas.

Beginning on Friday, March 12, NYITCOM-Arkansas will hold a number of mobile vaccination clinics throughout Northeast Arkansas to distribute the remaining doses. Through the Delta Care-A-Van, NYITCOM-Arkansas’ mobile medical unit, medical students and faculty will administer the vaccines.

“We were very pleased to be able to vaccinate almost 1,700 hundred people last weekend, and we’re grateful to Randolph County Judge David Jansen for helping organize Friday’s event to serve even more Northeast Arkansans,” said Speights. “It’s very important that people who are eligible to be vaccinated take advantage of their opportunity to do so, and community events like those we are hosting provide a convenient opportunity for people to receive their vaccine.”