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Wilkes University students grateful for vaccinations

Approximately 250 members of the Wilkes community got the COVID-19 vaccine, along with other folks in the city.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The wintery weather didn't stop dozens of employees and students from Wilkes University from getting their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

"I have been counting down the days till this moment," said sophomore Madelynn Kinard. "I'm so excited. I'm glad to have one down, one more to go."

This is just one of the vaccination clinics that Wilkes University has been hosting with the Wilkes-Barre Department of Health inside the McHale Athletic center on campus.

Approximately 250 members of the Wilkes community were vaccinated, along with other folks in the city.

University officials say getting everyone vaccinated is important, especially those on college campuses where person-to-person interactions are increased.

"With Wilkes being a congregate setting, it's almost like a city within a city where you have all of your operations and folks are just together and awful lot," said Justin Kraynack, the associate vice president of operations and compliance at Wilkes University.

RELATED: How to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment in Pennsylvania

Wilkes University students who received their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine tell Newswatch 16 they feel a sense of relief because getting the first dose of the shot means they're on the road to things slowly getting back to normal.

"I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. It's not just all dark in there. We got a while to go still, but hopefully, by the end of summer, there's some type of normalcy back, said senior Dylan Mehl.

"It's almost kind of a relief because obviously, things are so crazy everyone's been experiencing it, and I feel like this is kind of that first step towards the return to normalcy," Kinard said. "it's a step in the right direction, I think."

Over 400 doses were given out.

Nurses from the Wilkes-Barre Department of Health are set to return in four weeks to administer the second dose in the two-shot series.

The next clinic is scheduled for next Thursday and is open to anyone 18 or older. 

Appointments can be made through the Wilkes-Barre Department of Health here.

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