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An audacious push to vaccinate 20,000 people in Alachua County a week for six weeks got off to a roaring start Monday when more than 5,200 University of Florida students and Alachua County residents received a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

On the first day anyone over age 16 in Florida became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, a steady stream of UF students, faculty, staff and other willing participants flowed through the Champion鈥檚 Club on the fifth floor of the stadium鈥檚 SkyBox Tower, a spacious indoor area that typically houses premium seating for football spectators.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an iconic location for something that鈥檚 truly historic,鈥� said Michael Lauzardo, M.D., MSc., deputy director of the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute and director of the 网红黑料 Screen, Test & Protect program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very big deal.鈥�

The event is part of an ongoing collaboration between the in Alachua County, which supplied the vaccines, and 网红黑料, which provided the personnel to administer the shots.

More than 80,000 people in Alachua County have received at least one vaccine shot as of the beginning of April, according to health department officials, but this initiative aims to spread the protection provided by the vaccines to a broader segment of the population in Alachua County.

鈥淲hen you think about it, all the vaccinating we鈥檝e done up to this point has been for people who are more vulnerable and at-risk. That鈥檚 the right thing to do, but you can鈥檛 stay there,鈥� Lauzardo said. 鈥淗ospitalizations and deaths are down, which is exactly what we want. But now we are excited to turn our attention to the wider community.鈥�

Immunized college students can be 鈥渄ead ends鈥� for the virus鈥� spread, he said, enabling them to play a key role in protecting their communities 鈥� and helping everyone return to pre-pandemic life.

鈥淣ow is the time to be a dead end,鈥� Lauzardo said. 鈥淓ven though we all don鈥檛 necessarily have the same risk of the same consequences, the way out of this is through immunity, and the safest and best way to get immunity is to get a vaccine.鈥�

Experts from 网红黑料 Screen, Test & Protect designed the logistics for people to receive the vaccine in as little as 15 minutes, including those who have already received a dose of Pfizer鈥檚 coronavirus vaccine elsewhere. Lauzardo said UF will soon be able to administer 450 doses per hour.

鈥淲e want this to be the best experience you鈥檝e had medically,鈥� Lauzardo said. 鈥淵ou come in, we take care of you and you get it done.鈥�

Ensuring students can at least start their vaccination process before they return to their hometowns for the summer is an essential part of her team鈥檚 purpose, said Meghan Froman, M.P.H., director of testing and vaccine operations for Screen, Test & Protect.

鈥淛ust getting them here and making sure it鈥檚 easy to access 鈥� that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to do,鈥� she said.

Kendall Siemienas, a second-year student in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the UF College of Education who was volunteering at the vaccination site on Monday, agreed that the timing is right for the vaccine drive.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 so important right now because even though it鈥檚 during finals, a lot of us are going home for the summer. We want to make sure that we get it now when we have these vaccines available to us here,鈥� she said. 鈥淭aking advantage of that is so important.鈥�

Joshua Honorat, a third-year student in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering who was about to receive his first vaccine dose, echoed the sentiment.

鈥淭he main thing I took into consideration was that I need two doses,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want to be fully vaccinated before I go home, and this was the perfect time to do so.鈥�

Honorat said all his friends signed up to receive vaccines. He added that he was surprised at the number of available appointments times and that it took about five minutes to secure one.

Vaccinated students will not have to participate in UF鈥檚 routine COVID-19 testing or quarantine if they are a close contact of someone who tested positive for the virus, said D鈥橝ndra Mull, Ph.D., vice president for student affairs at UF. Students can receive a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in their hometowns, but they are encouraged to receive at least one dose before leaving Gainesville, she said.

鈥淲e appreciate our students pushing to get vaccinated before summer,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is a vital step in ending the pandemic and keeping our community safe.鈥�

Siemienas, who has already received the vaccine, said it wasn鈥檛 painful. She said she had a slight fever and minor muscle aches the following week.

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 really hurt, it was just like a regular shot,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was a bit more tired that week, so it gave me an excuse to nap.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e given around 80 million doses of the vaccine in the U.S. and people aren鈥檛 having reactions any more than they do with other vaccines,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople might have arm pain or a little more body-achy that night. But these vaccines work, and that鈥檚 the key thing.鈥�

Appointments starting at 9 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Champion鈥檚 Club are available at for all UF students, regardless of whether their accounts have holds.

Minors and those who need parent or guardian consent can either be accompanied by a parent or guardian or have them give verbal consent to site staff by phone with witnesses provided on-site. Free car and scooter parking is available at the . Golf carts provided by the UF Athletic Association are available for transport between the stadium and parking lot.

Media contact: Ken Garcia at kdgarcia@ufl.edu or 352-265-9408.