University of Bridgeport is continuing the fight against COVID-19 by opening a mass vaccination site on campus.

The Wheeler Recreation Center at 400 University Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut has been outfitted with the latest protective equipment and staffed by medical personnel from Bridgeport Hospital. Beginning on Friday, February 12, 2021, the site will support Yale New Haven Health’s and the state government’s effort to vaccinate all of Connecticut’s citizens. The university will have the capacity to deliver 1,700 vaccine doses per week, while supplies are available.

The center will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for those with appointments. People 65 and older can make the required appointments through Yale New Haven Health.

UB’s students, faculty, and staff have all adjusted to the challenge of the pandemic over the past year,” says Interim President Stephen Healey. “We stepped up when the community needed a testing site in 2020, and now we are proud to step up to help with vaccination.”

One of several locations that Bridgeport Hospital and Yale New Haven Health are operating in the area, the site opened up its doors to the community and began providing vaccinations Friday morning. City of Bridgeport officials, representatives from YNHH, and Bridgeport Hospital Staff were on hand to witness the event. “We’re very excited,” says the Vaccination Clinic Operations Manager, Paul Possenti, who also serves as Director of Trauma Services and Emergency Management at Bridgeport Hospital and Adjunct Professor in UB’s Physician Assistant Institute. “We’d like thank the University of Bridgeport for letting us use the Wheeler Rec Center.”

The interior of Wheeler Recreation Center has been transformed, with plastic shields and temporary walls enclosing small stations where patients receive vaccines. Refrigerated and sealed compartments keep the vaccine doses and personal protective equipment safe. On the first day, over 250 vaccines were scheduled, and that number is expected to rise over the next few weeks, as more and more Connecticut residents sign up to receive this essential inoculation. “Come on over to get vaccinated when it’s your time,” says Anne Diamond, the president of Bridgeport Hospital. “That’s the only thing that is going to help us.”

This latest effort is part of the University of Bridgeport’s longstanding commitment to the region and the local community. “We’re delighted to be working with the city of Bridgeport and the mayor to offer this service,” says President Healey. “It’s crucial during this pandemic that we all pull together.”

Schedule an appointment at www.ynhhs.org/covidvaccine.