HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With medical professionals finding a shortage in hands to administer COVID-19 vaccines, nursing faculty and students have stepped up to the plate all over the country – including those from the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

Nursing students and faculty are spreading out over six counties in north Alabama – all at the request of the Alabama Department of Public Health.

The vaccine experience is part of a clinical course at UAH, and one part of that course includes getting validated for injections.

Professors said for some of these first-year nursing students, going to the vaccine clinics was the first time some had ever administered an injection to a real person.

A few even got validated to perform the task just the week before after learning how to inject patients using mannequins.

However, any nervousness quickly faded away; by the end of the day, those students could have administered over 100 vaccines by themselves.

In addition to administering the vaccine, students also did the pre-screening, paperwork, and monitoring of patients post-vaccination.

Professors estimate by now, thousands of vaccines have been administered by their students.