Rowan Cooper Medical Students Vaccinated For Coronavirus

Medical students at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University have begun receiving the coronavirus vaccine, Cooper University Health Care announced Thursday morning.

The first dose went to Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Dean Dr. Annette C. Reboli. Third-year medical student Nicholas Daroshefski gave her the first vaccination.

After that, 100 students were vaccinated. The remaining 300-plus students who make up the school’s student body will have the opportunity to be vaccinated in the coming weeks, as more student vaccination clinics are scheduled.

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New Jersey’s medical students are among the first round of residents scheduled to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University is one of the first medical schools in the country to begin rolling out the vaccine to students, officials said. Read more here: Here's Who's Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine First In New Jersey

Reboli, an infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist, is a strong advocate for vaccinating medical students in the early phases of vaccine distribution. By receiving her vaccine in front of students, she said she hoped to instill confidence in the vaccine’s safety and encourage students to get vaccinated themselves.

“At a time when there is a projected shortage of physicians, it is vital for U.S. medical students to safely progress in their clinical education and continue supporting professional health care teams inside the hospital,” Reboli said. “In addition, the vaccination of medical students prepares them to serve as early frontline volunteers as we plan mass vaccination clinics in our communities. This will be the largest public health initiative in the history of the U.S., and we will need all hands on deck.”

“Today marks another important step forward in the battle against COVID-19 with the vaccination of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University students to further strengthen our ability to serve the public in health care settings. We are simultaneously creating a secure vaccine distribution workforce for the Southern New Jersey region,” Cooper co-CEO Kevin O’Dowd said.

“The medical students at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University are an important part of the team at Cooper already and now will also serve as crucial medical volunteers in our vaccination efforts over the next few month. Therefore, it is vital for us to vaccinate these future physicians now as we vaccinate all of our healthcare workers,” Cooper co-CEO Anthony J. Mazzarelli said.

Last week, Cooper Health became one of the first six hospitals in the state to administer the coronavirus vaccine that had been developed by Pfizer. Since then, Virtua and Deborah Heart and Lung Center were also authorized to distribute the vaccine. Jefferson Health is the first to distribute the vaccine developed by Moderna. Read more here: No Severe Reactions To COVID Vaccine In South Jersey: Officials

More than 600 Cooper University Health employees have been vaccinated as of Thursday morning. Cooper anticipates receiving enough vaccines to offer the vaccination to all 8,000+ team members over the coming weeks and months. The vaccination is voluntary.

“Our students are passionate about serving the health and wellness needs of the community,” Reboli said. “As we move into the community vaccination phase, they will be instrumental in providing the vaccine not only in Camden, but throughout the South Jersey region.”