Free vaccinations for COVID-19 will be given out Friday and Saturday at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

Appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on both days.

Those 18 and old who live or work in Coles County are eligible to receive the vaccination.

The vaccine provided will be the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The vaccines will be administered in the Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education on the north side of the Health Center. Registration can be done at bit.ly/ColesVaccineClinic.

Those getting the vaccine are asked to do the following before their appointment:

· Be wearing a mask

· Have an Illinois State ID or driver’s license on hand

· Have a scheduled appointment

· Fill out the required forms for each person receiving vaccination

· Do not arrive more than 15 minutes before your appointment to promote social distancing

· Have your QR code printed or readily accessible on your phone

Students who do not have transportation available to them can use a university provided bus/van that will be leaving from the University Police Department and operating on a loop to and from Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

Possible side effects of the vaccine include pain, redness and swelling near the injection site and tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea throughout the body, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66.3% effective. Comparatively, the Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective.

According to the CDC:

· “The vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick.”

· “No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen vaccine had to be hospitalized.”

· “Early evidence suggests that the J&J/Janssen vaccine might provide protection against asymptomatic infection, which is when a person is infected by the virus that causes COVID-19 but does not get sick.”

There is also still SHIELD testing available on campus.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].