A training video Oregon Health & Science University developed to prepare its students and staff to give COVID-19 vaccines is now being used to train California paramedics and emergency medical technicians as that state ramps up its fight against the pandemic.
With an average of 106.6 new COVID cases each day per 100,000 people in the last week, the CDC reports California had the United States’ second-highest daily COVID case count on Jan. 13. In contrast, Oregon had an average of 28.1 new cases daily per 100,000 people in the last week.
“I’m glad our training can help California, where the pandemic is particularly dire right now,” said OHSU Occupational Health Program Manager Andrea Dayot, B.S.N., R.N., who created the training. “I’ve been honored to help Oregon and OHSU ensure safe, effective and timely COVID vaccination. We want to share OHSU’s expertise and help everyone work together to resolve this tragic public health emergency.”
OHSU initially recorded a 50-minute video on Dec. 11, 2020, during a web-based training led by Dayot. She combined pre-existing information from various health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oregon Health Authority into one brief training.
In the training, Dayot describes how vaccination saves lives, differences between various COVID vaccines, storage and handling requirements, best practices for administering injections in the shoulder muscle, participating in a mass immunization clinic and more. It was created for OHSU staff and students who are now vaccinating their colleagues and classmates, and will also help vaccinate the public in the future. The online training is designed to be followed by a hands-on, half-hour orientation held at the beginning of someone’s first shift at a COVID vaccination clinic.
The recording was posted online as a free continuing professional education offering of the OHSU School of Medicine. Louis Bruhnke, M.A., NREMT-P, FP-C, chief deputy director of California’s Emergency Medical Services Authority, reached out to Dayot on Jan. 6. She offered to update the training and add information specific to the Golden State.
On Jan. 11, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced paramedics and EMTs would be among a broader list of health professionals who are now being tasked with helping expand the state’s vaccination efforts. OHSU shared its updated training video with California that same evening for free.
The original training video is available to anyone, but only those authorized by their respective state can administer vaccines. Even so, as the general public eagerly waits to receive a COVID vaccine, Dayot says the video can also help everyone better understand vaccines and the vaccination process.
Other institutions or agencies interested in using the training video should send an email to paranjpe@ohsu.edu with the subject line “OHSU COVID-19 Vaccination Training video.”