Public Health Student Aids COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out
Fairfield native works as pharmacy technician, applies her studies to aid community
Sacred Heart University graduate student Allyson Wojnoski is doing her part to help stop the spread of COVID-19 through her public health coursework in the master’s in public health program and her job as a pharmacy technician.
When the pandemic hit, Wojnoski, 24, was taking the course on community health in times of crisis with Sofia Pendley, professor of public health. The lessons soon became all too relevant and applicable. “It really was an amazing experience to be in this program and live through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wojnoski said in a Zoom interview.
Pendley had students assemble weekly updates on the coronavirus that they compiled into reports for SHU faculty and staff, as well as Bridgeport city officials. Students collected information from reputable sources such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Wojnoski’s job was to find up-to-date information on the confirmed number of cases, potential cases and deaths in the United States. Early on, she and her peers witnessed the number of cases rise from one to 100. They also watched the number of deaths rise. “This was real public health,” Wojnoski said. “It was excellent practice. It was great to collaborate and work together as a team to produce something helpful for the community.”
In the fall semester, Wojnoski designed a contact-tracing debriefing guide for SHU’s own COVID-19 protocols. The guide serves as a tool to capture best practices and lessons learned from the fall.
Vaccine
Wojnoski also works as a pharmacy technician at a CVS store where conversations about the coronavirus vaccine started last fall. When asked if she wanted to be part of the vaccine roll-out, she happily agreed.
By mid-December Wojnoski and her CVS team were visiting nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the state to vaccinate residents. Though she was not fully trained yet to administer the inoculation, she was onsite to gather information from the recipients about their allergies, medications and medical conditions before they received the vaccine.
“Doing this work and making a difference felt good,” Wojnoski said. Her team vaccinated 20 to 250 people per day. During these visits, she also helped educate people and dispel misconceptions. “We have a responsibility to tell the truth and refocus the conversation on the importance of vaccines,” she said.
Vaccine recipients “were so thankful and felt so lucky to have the shot. They were so excited to call their family members to tell them the good news. They showed off their vaccine cards to one another and asked to take photos with us so they could show their friends. It was really cute,” Wojnoski said.
Wojnoski completed her training in early January and is now certified to administer vaccines. Her work at CVS continues as the COVID-19 vaccination process accelerates throughout Connecticut and the nation.
Wojnoski enrolled in Sacred Heart’s master’s in public health program in 2019 to learn more about health disparities. As a Fairfield native, she was pleased that her hometown university offered the program through its College of Health Professions.
“I grew up here and always knew SHU had a great reputation. I really like the professors and the structure of the program,” said Wojnoski, who will graduate with her master’s degree in May. She also enjoys the small classes and intimate classroom discussions.
To learn more, visit SHU’s MPH program page.
Photo caption: Allyson Wojnoski recieves the COVID-19 vaccine in preparation for her work in the community.