Saint Vincent College staff get covid-19 vaccine as spring semester nears

Many faculty and staff at Saint Vincent College received initial doses of the covid-19 vaccine about a week before students are set to return to campus for the spring semester.

The college partnered with Mainline Pharmacy Group’s Blairsville Pharmacy on Tuesday to provide the Moderna vaccine to registered members of the college community who meet state eligibility guidelines — those 65 or older or those with an underlying medical condition.

In addition to staff at the college in Unity, the vaccinations were open to qualifying spouses, students and members of the Saint Vincent Benedictine monastery. Some area residents on the pharmacy’s waiting list of close to 10,000 people also received the vaccine during the daylong clinic at the college’s Fred Rogers Center.

John Pastorek, director of pharmacy at Blairsville Pharmacy, came to the college with 800 doses and administered more than 700 of them before the day was out. He’s hoping to return to the center for future clinics.

At midday, registered participants waiting for their shots formed a line snaking through a corridor and circling the second-floor lobby of the center.

“We need a big place like this,” Pastorek said. “It’s kind of a test run today. Our goal is to get people vaccinated as fast as we can.”

Clinic participants are to receive the second dose in February, according to John Smetanka, Saint Vincent’s vice president of academic affairs and academic dean.

While mask-wearing and social distancing requirements will continue to be in place at the college for the upcoming semester, Smetanka said, “The vaccination is going to provide a safety net for us. It’s going to provide a sense of relief for our most vulnerable faculty, staff and students.”

Finance professor Mark Abramovic, 72, of Hempfield rolled up his sleeve for a dose at the clinic and noted his wife, Romaine, was on a waiting list to be vaccinated.

Since Saint Vincent will forgo a spring break, he said.

“We’re going to blast right through the spring semester,” he said. “The ability to get (vaccine) shots like this on campus makes things all the more efficient.”

During the fall, he said, “We didn’t have a lot of covid issues on campus. That allowed us to go through our semester almost seamlessly.

“We hope that everybody will get the shots. Then we can get back to some normalcy in the way we live. The sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

Sandy Quinlivan of Latrobe, who is retired as associate dean of studies at the college, received a shot at the clinic, as did her husband, Gary Quinlivan, dean of the college’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government.

“I’m very grateful that the college has offered this opportunity,” said Sandy Quinlivan. “I’m glad to see so many people here.”

Quinlivan said she had no hesitation in signing up for the vaccine. She noted the couple’s daughter, Vanessa Quinlivan, is a biologist in Washington, D.C., who helps manage a covid testing lab at George Washington University.

“It’s been good to run questions by (Vanessa),” her mother said. “She’s been a very good resource.”

Brother Norman Hipps, 77, the college’s former president, also signed up when plans for the clinic were announced Friday to the campus community.

Hipps, who teaches a mathematics appreciation course in person, noted, “It’s been a good 10 weeks between semesters. Hopefully, with people getting vaccinated, we will be adequately protected.”

Teaching students wearing masks made it more difficult for Hipps to assess their reactions to his lessons.

“You can see a raised eyebrow, but you don’t get the smile or the grimace,” he said.

But he was able to meet individually with each student on a weekly basis and “got to know my students in ways I wouldn’t otherwise.”

Save for some winter athletes already on hand, most Saint Vincent students will be returning to campus, to undergo covid-19 testing, the first part of next week. When spring classes resume Feb. 8, the college will repeat its fall instructional model — a mix of in-person instruction with masks and social distancing along with online work.

About 900 of the college’s 1,500 students are expected to be living on campus, Smetanka said.

“Hopefully, as the vaccine rolls out, for the (2021) fall semester we’ll be back to as normal as possible operations,” he said.

Those interested in being placed on the Mainline Pharmacy Group’s vaccine waiting list can email their name, age, contact information, occupation and medical conditions to covid@mainlinerx.com.