Christina Duran/Tucson Weekly
On a recent Friday night,
Paul Madero walked into downtown s Fox Tucson Theatre mobile vaccination site following almost a month in the hospital thanks to a mountain bike accident. Madero s daughter, April Madero, had already gotten her family vaccinated, but was unable to get her father an appointment. April saw the Fox Theater offered vaccinations without an appointment and brought her father.
Madero, 65, did not have much hesitation as his daughter made the appointment for him. She s the one that made the appointment, so I figured it was safe, said Madero.
On recent Friday nights, as some people were heading home from their jobs and others were headed out for a night at now-open bars and clubs, the Fox opened its doors, not for a show, but to provide no-appointment walk-in Moderna vaccinations.
The team behind the vaccination clinic University of Arizona College of Nursing faculty and students with first-hand experience of the human cost of COVID-19 ran a vaccination clinic last weekend. Led by Kristie Hoch, UA clinical assistant professor and program administrator of the Nurse Anesthesia Specialty, volunteer Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) administered vaccines to people at the drive-thru. For about 150 years, CRNAs have been preparing patients for anesthesia before surgical procedures, said Hoch. “We ensure patients are safe and comfortable during their anesthesia and this piece for us is part of ensuring our community is safe,” said Hoch, referring to vaccinations as part of that work.