Patience Requested as Phase 1-B Vaccination Process Will Take Time

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It will likely take several weeks to vaccinate all those who are eligible and wish to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a part of Phase 1-B of the state's vaccination plan because there isn't currently enough vaccine available for all who want to receive it.

While eligible University of Arkansas employees can seek to be vaccinated at any participating pharmacy or provider starting Jan. 18, the university is working to help vaccinate as many eligible employees as quickly as possible by hosting the first of what will likely be several mass vaccination clinics on campus.

Following Arkansas Department of Health guidance to prioritize eligible employees who should receive the limited number of vaccines, the university is working to provide vaccination opportunities for older members of the campus community first. For the initial mass vaccination clinic on campus, the university will provide access to appointment scheduling information in a tiered manner, starting with those more than 70 years of age. Because each clinic will have limited reservations, eligible employees who aren't working on campus on a regular basis should be considerate of those who are required to do so, giving them ample opportunity to be vaccinated first.

"We ask that all eligible employees remain patient as it's not possible to vaccinate everyone who is eligible at once with a limited supply of vaccines," said Charles Robinson, provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. "But additional vaccines are being delivered to the state and distributed to providers on a regular basis. The supply will increase. We're already planning additional vaccine clinics and we'll announce those plans as soon as they are finalized."  

INITIAL MASS VACCINATION CLINIC ON CAMPUS – JAN. 23

The U of A has made arrangements with a local pharmacy to conduct the initial mass vaccination clinic on campus with nursing students from the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing administering the vaccines.

Vaccines will only be administered to eligible employees with an appointment and the appropriate identification (listed below).

When: Saturday, Jan. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Reynolds Razorback Stadium

• Enter Gate 14, at the northeast corner of the stadium near the Wild Band of Razorbacks fountain, a few minutes before your scheduled appointment.

Appointment Required: The university is reaching out directly to eligible employees in a prioritized manner based on the individual's age. The names and contact information for those eligible and seeking vaccine will be relayed to Collier Drug Stores to schedule appointments. At a later date, vaccine appointments will be available for all eligible employees.

What to Bring: To receive the vaccine from eligible providers including mass vaccination clinics, you must bring the following:

• University photo identification
• Insurance card
• Driver's license or other form of photo identification 
• The individualized letter from the university recently emailed to employees

Only eligible employees may receive the vaccine on campus at this time. Family members of employees are not eligible for vaccination at mass vaccine clinics on campus. 

Collier's has requested that university employees NOT make appointments through the Collier Drug booking website accessible to the general public. Collier's pharmacists say they are only "encouraging in-store appointments for the 70-plus population" at this time.

Information about additional mass vaccination opportunities on campus will be communicated as soon as those details become available. The vaccine portion of the Spring 2021 COVID-19 Response Guide will continue to be updated with the latest information throughout the semester.

As other opportunities for vaccination are made available to the university, those may be shared with our community from either Human Resources or U of A Emergency Management.

Pat Walker Health Center has applied for approval to be a COVID-19 vaccination provider. Until that approval has been received, eligible employees can check with area pharmacies to see if they are accepting vaccination reservations.  

The ADH provides a map and searchable list of pharmacies providing vaccinations across the state.

If you have questions or need further information regarding the vaccination process or anything pertaining to COVID response, please contact hrassist@uark.edu.