UMMC receives COVID-19 vaccine

Published on Monday, December 14, 2020

By: Marc Rolph, mrolph@umc.edu

Today, the initial allotment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination was received by the University of Mississippi Medical Center and transferred to on-campus ultra-cold freezers for storage. This allotment consisted of 780 vials, each able to yield five doses of the vaccine for a total of 3,900 doses of the vaccine.

This initial allotment of the vaccine is for distribution to UMMC employees only. Employees will be granted the option to receive the vaccine through a tiered system with those designated as highest risk – for example, those coming in daily contact with known or suspected COVID-19 patients – given highest priority.

An employee COVID-19 vaccine clinic has been established in the lobby of the Blair E. Batson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi that consists of 10 private cubicles where the vaccine will be administered. Each hour, up to six vaccinations can be given in each cubicle for a maximum of 60 inoculations per hour.

It is expected that the employee vaccine clinic will begin fully operating, administering vaccines to employees who have been given the option to make an appointment according to a predetermined tier system, in the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 16. 

The COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory for UMMC employees, but it is strongly encouraged by Medical Center leadership. Proper mask usage according to the UMMC Mask Policy will still be required after employees receive the vaccine.