UTEP Frontline Workers Immunized in Rollout of TTUHSC El Paso’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program
Last Updated on December 29, 2020 at 12:00 PM
Originally published December 29, 2020
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
Approximately 100 members of The University of Texas at El Paso’s Coronavirus Proactive Testing and Vaccination programs received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Monday, Dec. 28, thanks to the University’s ongoing partnership with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso).
“UTEP and TTUHSC El Paso have been working together throughout the pandemic,” UTEP President Heather Wilson said. “TTUHSC El Paso President Dr. Richard Lange reached out over Christmas and offered to vaccinate our UTEP testing and vaccination teams. We are grateful for the partnership.”
The UTEP frontline workers who were immunized Monday were part of the first cohort to be served by TTUHSC El Paso’s vaccination program. The program targets TTUHSC El Paso students who have direct contact with patients, as well as physicians and support staff from Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, the clinical arm of the Foster School of Medicine. It served approximately 500 people during its first day and is scheduled to continue for the next two weeks.
TTUHSC El Paso received 3,000 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 23 and is working to identify gaps in the ability to vaccinate frontline health care professionals across the city. The university is committed to working with local organizations to provide vaccines from their allotment.
UTEP and TTUHSC El Paso have worked together on several research initiatives in recent months. This opportunity to include UTEP staff members in the rollout of TTUHSC El Paso’s vaccination program is the latest example of how the two institutions are collaborating to make a positive impact on the well-being of the region they serve.
“As partners in education and research, TTUHSC El Paso and UTEP have remained focused on the goal of improving lives across the Borderland, especially now as we face the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said TTUHSC El Paso President Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A. “Now that TTUHSC El Paso has received its allocation of COVID-19 vaccines, we’re proud to come together once more to ensure members of UTEP’s Coronavirus Proactive Testing and Vaccination programs, as well as students from UTEP’s School of Pharmacy, remain healthy as they continue serving the important needs of our community.”
UTEP has submitted its own application to become a COVID-19 vaccine provider for its students and employees under the Texas vaccination program. That application is currently in the final stages of the approval process.
