Skipping the Lines

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by Tatiana Portillo

On Saturday, we had our third covid-19 clinic at work.

It was hectic, yet the process was smooth. We are getting anywhere from 80-200 patients per day. We currently have only one pharmacist to give the vaccinations.

The company announced that board of pharmacy approved for pharmacy technicians to give vaccinations because of the shortage in healthcare providers.

The pandemic has shown us all that we are not ready to overcome the virus. There are shortages on doses and those who can vaccinate… or so they say. I think this is great but also scary. Now, technicians will be able to assist pharmacist during the pandemic. Are pharmacy technicians qualified to give shots? We are currently taking classes and modules to prepare us for the upcoming clinics. Every technician is also practicing hands on by injecting each other with saline. The length of the processes depends on the technician’s speed. This program will help, and the clinics number of daily patients should increase once everyone is certified.

On another note, why is it that our local patients have not been able to schedule an appointment to get vaccinated but affluent people are? We had patients come from other communities while the minority group within our community have not been able to get any appointments.

People from san Diego, Beverly hills, west la, etc. came to get the doses that should have been distributed to our patients. Is our community going to be last to be vaccinated? Are we less deserving because of our economic status?

The El Popo Newspaper was first published in 1970 by students concerned about the lack of a Chicana and Chicano perspective in newspapers. As a result, students called the newspaper, El Popo. The paper was named El Popo after the volcano El Popocatepetl. Involved in Chicana/o Movement of the 60’s and 70’s, students saw a connection between the smoke spewing volcano ready to erupt and the student movement ready to engage. Thus, throughout the El Popo’s forty-six years, the name continues to symbolize and to represent the spirit of each generation of students that contribute to the pages of the El Popo Newspaper. Faculty Advisor/Publisher George Sanchez, MA Carlos R. Guerrero, Ph.D., 1992-2021