Middle GA universities begin COVID vaccinations for students, faculty on campus

With most Georgians eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, and the state’s supply of doses flowing beyond private pharmacies, county health departments and mass vaccination sites, Georgia colleges and universities have started administering the vaccine to students, faculty and staff.

Some universities are opening their vaccination clinics to the general public as well. None have yet announced whether they’ll mandate vaccines for students, faculty and staff beginning in the fall.

Middle Georgia State doing its part to help with vaccinations

Middle Georgia State received its first 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine about a week ago at its Macon campus.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing our part in the state to help get our students and faculty and staff vaccinated,” Middle Georgia State’s Vice President for Student Affairs Jennifer Brannon said “The more folks that get vaccinated, the better we are. It is an honor that we were able to do that.”

Middle Georgia State was on schedule to finish its first allotment of vaccines this week and will apply for a new shipment immediately. Because the university is a part of the University System of Georgia, school leaders are waiting for further guidance on whether the vaccine will be made mandatory for all students, staff and faculty; currently, a vaccine is not mandatory.

Middle Georgia State has also applied for the Cochran campus to be a distribution center but there is no timeline on when or if it will be approved. However, any students who are a part of Middle Georgia State University including those who take online classes are eligible to get the vaccine at the Macon campus location.

“We are just so thrilled”

Mercer University can provide the cold storage necessary for the Pfizer vaccine, and recently received around 1,100 Pfizer doses

Mercer is the only university in Middle Georgia that is opening its clinics up to the general public and will help vaccinate those under the age of 18. As of now, Mercer is still in the process of getting an order that is available for the public.

“We anticipate getting more vaccines; we will certainly be getting the word out to people so that more people in our community are aware that we’re offering the vaccine,” Mercer Vice Provost Kelly Reffitt said. “We are just thrilled to be in a position to provide the vaccine to not only the Mercer community but also the community at large.”

The Atlanta campus is also distributing doses of the vaccine and got its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine last week after the state reached out and asked them to take on this shipment on short notice because another distribution site was not able to. The Atlanta campus has received approximately 400 doses

Reffitt said the state helped organize the transfer from one facility to their Atlanta campus and that they will continue to work closely with the Georgia Department of Public Health to get vaccines when available.

“The state has a policy that once you administer 80% of that current order, you can order more,” Reffitt said. “Every time we get to that point, we order more and we will just continue to do that until we can vaccinate as many people who want it.”

At this time, Mercer has not made a decision on whether the vaccine will be mandatory to return to campus in the fall.

Wesleyan first college in Middle GA to begin vaccination program

Wesleyan College began vaccinating eligible staff and faculty members in early January with the Moderna vaccine. Wesleyan has been able to provide access to its campus community through each stage of the vaccination process as additional groups were let in.

Sirena Fritz, director of nursing at Wesleyan College, said making it easier for students to get the vaccine means more are likely to do so.

“We set up clinics for our students to be able to come in for both doses,” Fritz said. “They don’t have to go off campus to receive it. We have tried to educate them on the safety of the vaccine and how it can help keep our campus and community safe.”

Fritz said that a part of increasing student participation has centered around educating the students on the importance of the vaccine. By offering that education Wesleyan has been able to encourage students to sign up to receive it. On Monday, they had 90 students sign up for their clinic. Wesleyan runs a clinic each Monday now that the guidelines have been opened up to those 16 and older.

“We don’t have to wait for them to go to one of the state distribution sites. We can get them in here and vaccinate large numbers of them to return to a normal campus in the fall,” Fritz said. “It has really helped us with our COVID numbers here on campus.”