Students from the College of Pharmacy at Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Ave., Glendale, are joining the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic battle by volunteering to help prepare and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

More than 50 Midwestern pharmacy students have taken opportunities to participate in the vaccination process at their national clinical rotation sites and at Points of Distribution (POD) around Arizona. From patient intake and information, transport of the vaccine, and reconstitution, to pre-filling syringes and vaccine administration, College of Pharmacy students are serving the community.

Students Elaine Tan and Alex Nguyen volunteered at Yale New Haven Hospital, their rotation site in Connecticut, preparing and delivering vaccines.

“More information comes out each day, and we know we can beat this pandemic,” Ms. Tan stated in a news release. “We can take this information and use it to educate and calm the community.”

Mr. Nguyen found the chance to be on the vanguard of an unprecedented healthcare challenge inspiring.

“I want to be a pioneer in healthcare, one of the first to handle such a monumental vaccine, and to be a critical piece to fighting this pandemic,” Mr. Nguyen stated.

Acacia Akiona, pharmcorp chair of Midwestern University’s Beta Rho Chapter of the Kappa Epsilon national pharmacy fraternity, volunteered at a Banner Health POD at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in December, drawing up doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for the Phase 1A rollout during the busy holiday season.

“I wanted to volunteer to have the opportunity to work with the vaccine directly and to help where I knew I could,” Ms. Akiona stated.