The temporary vaccination site on campus attracted a lot less people than hoped on the first day. Around thirty people came to get vaccinated with Pfizer or Janssen, but there was room for 350.

Sixty vaccinations per hour. That’s the capacity of the pop-up vaccination site of the GGD (Municipal Health Services) in the hall of the Erasmus building. When the site opened at 11 o’clock in the morning, there were around six students waiting.

From Monday till Saturday – almost the entire introduction week – it’s possible for anyone who wants to, to get vaccinated with Pfizer or Janssen, without an appointment. ‘It’s a way to adapt to what people need,’ says Marloes van den Dries, vaccination coordinator at the GGD Gelderland-Zuid. This way they hope to get the vaccination rate among students and employees as high as possible, a common goal of the GGD and the university. They hope to attract students that are still in doubt, or internationals who haven’t been able to get vaccinated yet in their home country. Van der Dries: ‘But you can also walk in to get more information.’

Despite the promising start, it remains quiet for the rest of the day. Only occasionally do some students trickle in, such as Fleur de Klijne. The temporary vaccination site offers a solution for the 22-year-old International Studie student, she says. She studies in Leiden, but visits Nijmegen often for association activities. De Klijne didn’t get the chance to get vaccinated before summer started because she was going to have surgery while under anesthesia. She was also scared of any side-effects, which some people around her experienced after being vaccinated with Janssen. ‘That I’m able to walk in here without an appointment, is really convenient.’

Condoms

De Klijne being a Dutch student is an exception today. Most of the visitors are internationals, says Romeo Morello, who will be the site’s coordinator on Tuesday. The total amount of vaccinations today was around thirty, he says at the end of the afternoon. Even the set of four condoms (with GGD-logo) which was available for everyone who got vaccinated didn’t change anything.

It’s less vaccinations than hoped for, and over ten times less than what was possible with the current capacity. ‘But every vaccination is one more for the count. Today meant that thirty people are now extra protected.’

The vaccination site in the Erasmus building will be open to and including Saturday, from 11 o’clock until 5 in the afternoon. From 13 September, there will be five more vaccination days on campus.