On Wednesday morning, people who have made an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine entered and exited SF State’s Mashouf Wellness Center, some for their first dose and some for their second dose appointment.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health in partnership with Safeway began offering on Tuesday the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 16 and older. SF State’s Mashouf Wellness Center hosts appointments every Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fatima Caballero, marketing student at SF State, received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Mashouf Wellness Center on April 14.
Caballero said that it is not hard for SF State students to sign up for the vaccination. They only need to open the link sent by the school, but the students should move fast. “There was a limited amount of availability. So you had to be quick to get the appointment,” Caballero said.
An email was sent out to all SF State students by Roger Razzari Elrod, director of Student Health Services, on April 9 regarding the expanded eligibility for the vaccine. For SF State students and employees, there is a unique link to make appointments posted on its website. This week, the SF State campus community was allocated 200 appointments.
Caballero said that she could not choose which vaccine she was given — the Pfizer vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine offered at the Mashouf Wellness Center. After Caballero was vaccinated, she said she experienced no symptoms except for soreness on her arm.
Armin Haken is a San Francisco resident, and his child is studying at SF State. He came to Mashouf Wellness Center to get the second COVID-19 vaccine.
“They only have Pfizer, I’m happy with Pfizer and our body feels no problem,” Haken said about his experience of getting his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing the disease, according to the official statement.
Samantha Torres, who graduated from SF State in Fall 2020, said that she will continue to follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines and wear a mask every day, even though she knows that the Pfizer vaccine is more than 90% effective against COVID-19.
“I’m so nervous about giving it to other people. Obviously it won’t be as bad but I’m still scared about contracting it and giving it to people and just it’s still really scary,” Torres said.
