Colleges, Universities prepare for college-aged vaccine eligibility
CAPITAL REGION, NY (WRGB) — Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen announced that the county now has a specific batch of vaccines for college students, for when the vaccine eligibility age range changes to 16 and up on Tuesday.
“We have many times at these press conferences spoken about the concerns of college age students,” Whalen said during the Monday briefing.
Whalen says the county got 1600 additional Johnson and Johnson vaccines specifically for college students. How they’ll be distributed hasn’t been determined yet.
“To be able to vaccinate this age group is gonna be a great development. It looks like we will continue to get that allocation for the coming weeks,” Whalen said.
UAlbany also got a separate batch of 536 vaccines from the state for a point of dispensing, or a POD site on campus, which launches on Tuesday. Only people affiliated with the university may schedule appointments there. This is the second POD site they’ve created on campus. The first was only for faculty and staff.
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The school is also starting a campaign targeted at students to inform them, and answer questions about the vaccine. Skidmore college sent a message out to students to inform them ahead of the time so they’re prepared to get the vaccine.
Hudson Valley Community College in Troy has a county-run site. We’re told discussions are in the works on how to prioritize student vaccination. In the meantime. They’ll be notifying students on a weekly basis when appointments become available.
“We send emails to our students and student leadership to let them know about the awareness of the vaccine at that time,” said Claudine Potvin-Giordano, HVCC’s Director of Health Services.
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Potvin-Giordano says a county-run site may take less time to book an appointment compared to a state run site.
“When we send a link they book quickly and we send it weekly so as the links become available we share it with our students,” Potvin-Giordano said.
Schools cannot force students to get a vaccine, but they are strongly encouraging them to do so.
