VCOM 2021 Annual Report

Working Together for Our Local Communities (continued)

Auburn Outreach Trunk-or-Treat - On Friday, October 23, 2020, the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) and the Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (SAMOPS) student organizations, along with other campus organizations, hosted a drive-thru Halloween event, Trunk-or-Treat. Student organizers wanted to hold a free community event where kids could safely celebrate Halloween inside their vehicles. Area families were invited to drive through the VCOM-Auburn campus parking lot to collect candy, play games and show off costumes in this safe, contactless event. Vaccine Clinic - VCOM-Auburn faculty and students assisted the East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) with its community COVID-19 vaccination efforts. According to VCOM-Auburn Surgery Discipline Chair Timothy Burandt, DO, FACOS, FACS, approximately 1,000 vaccinations were given daily at the EAMC COVID-19 vaccination clinic. VCOM students primarily assisted with vaccine reconstitution and dose- measuring at the large clinic. In addition to the large clinic activity, smaller, mobile clinics were held throughout the Auburn/Opelika community. These mobile clinics offered different opportunities for the students to rotate where they can process, screen and monitor patients, and administer vaccinations. Community Radio - VCOM-Auburn interim dean John Lucas, DO, ACOEP, and VCOM-Auburn immunology discipline chair Joseph Brewer, PhD, appeared on the February 26, 2021 edition of the WANI 98.7 “Auburn/Opelika This Morning” community radio show with host Zac Blackerby. Lucas and Brewer discussed the COVID-19 vaccine and the work of VCOM-Auburn faculty and students to assist with local vaccination efforts. Brewer explained how the various vaccines worked to protect recipients, while both dispelled common myths about the vaccines.

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