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Colleges requiring covid vaccine to live on campus


melmichigan
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I know this has been discussed in one of the covid threads, but I thought it deserved it's own.  One of our colleges announced that they will require the covid vaccine if students wish to live in any on-campus housing.  Those that don't vaccinate have the option to commute. I see this as being a new norm, especially with Pfizer's announcement that they will apply for full authorization very soon.  I'm waiting to hear what our local college is going to require for this fall.

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My son's college required a flu shot to live on campus this past year, so I'd be shocked if they didn't require covid for next year. I don't think there's going to be much pushback at his small, progressive LAC, but I'm sure there will be at a lot of schools. 

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7 minutes ago, kokotg said:

My son's college required a flu shot to live on campus this past year, so I'd be shocked if they didn't require covid for next year. I don't think there's going to be much pushback at his small, progressive LAC, but I'm sure there will be at a lot of schools. 

I am curious as to ho this was implemented.  Was the flu shot required before the start of the semester to live on campus?  Does that mean that studens were getting flu shots in August? Perhaps you live where schools start later in the year, but where I am students are moving in the dorms by mid-August, which seems early for flu shots to be widely available.

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2 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I am curious as to ho this was implemented.  Was the flu shot required before the start of the semester to live on campus?  Does that mean that studens were getting flu shots in August? Perhaps you live where schools start later in the year, but where I am students are moving in the dorms by mid-August, which seems early for flu shots to be widely available.

They had them available on campus, and there was a certain date they were required to get them by. So they didn't have to have them at the beginning of the year; it was something like November 1 or December 1.

Edited by kokotg
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I am expecting the school L plans to attend next year to require them because they shut down completely and only reopened to the extent of allowing students who had no other safe place to go to stay on campus, allowed library access, etc. All classes stayed online. They told parents at scholar's weekend that they planned to have vaccination clinics on campus this summer and, if necessary, to vaccinate students during move in/orientation this fall. So I expect it. My family will all be fully vaccinated by early May, so that's one stressor that won't be a concern. I also really expect that vaccination will be a requirement for the alternative homeschool graduation we're doing in June, because we chose not to do the big local one since it was pretending COVID didn't exist. And if it allows the seniors to have a more relaxed graduation, and maybe even their prom afterwards, I am all for vaccine passports!

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1 minute ago, City Mouse said:

That doesn’t surprise me. Some states already require some immunizations in order for students to live on campus- meningitis comes to mind, but I haven’t done any research to confirm. 

My kid has gotten acceptance letters listing the acceptance as conditional when the only thing not yet sent in is vaccination records. Usually they want to see a second MMR and a meningitis vaccine. 

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I thought it would be required,  and had already planned for my DD to get it.  I've had her get several other boosters and vaccines,  hoping to be finished with them in June!  HPV, Hep A, Varicella booster, another meningitis- not all are required,  but they are suggested for students in dorms.  Living in such close quarters, its a good idea to go ahead and get them!  I've never gotten a flu shot,  but I already told her she should when living in the dorms.   

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It doesn't surprise me either.  My kid goes to a big university.  They are not requiring it at this point.  However everyone who comes back unvaccinated will be required to continue testing twice a week to access campus buildings and be subject to isolation and quarantine.  They are doing a gangbuster job this spring - their positivity rate is 0.1%.  So I do wonder how many kids will come back, deal with that for a few weeks while their friends are living la vida loca, and will end up getting vaccinated on campus?  I honestly had to stop following the parent board, so much drama.  

They do require vax records from everyone.  They do have huge flu shot clinics in the fall.  

For freshman, #1 dorm item I recommend.  Decent quality air purifier.  Be sure to change the filter - we only did it at semester break.  My kid had a flu shot and an air purifier freshman year in a very tight dorm, never even had a cold (knock on wood).  

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37 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

It doesn't surprise me either.  My kid goes to a big university.  They are not requiring it at this point.  However everyone who comes back unvaccinated will be required to continue testing twice a week to access campus buildings and be subject to isolation and quarantine.  They are doing a gangbuster job this spring - their positivity rate is 0.1%.  So I do wonder how many kids will come back, deal with that for a few weeks while their friends are living la vida loca, and will end up getting vaccinated on campus?  I honestly had to stop following the parent board, so much drama.  

They do require vax records from everyone.  They do have huge flu shot clinics in the fall.  

For freshman, #1 dorm item I recommend.  Decent quality air purifier.  Be sure to change the filter - we only did it at semester break.  My kid had a flu shot and an air purifier freshman year in a very tight dorm, never even had a cold (knock on wood).  

Really good thought-I have been running one in my studio and really feel it has made a difference. 

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Texas A&M still has the following on its website.  Maybe state(?) law means they "cannot be required" yet.

"As the different versions of the vaccine are currently approved only under a Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization, they currently cannot be required of employees or students."

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Two of my kids went to/is just now finishing boarding school for high school, long before COVID, and meningitis was required of all boarders.  I *believe* meningitis was also required to live on campus at both universities the older two attended (but it was moot since they'd already had it so I can't really remember).

 

Re implementation vs timing of annual flu vaccine:

3 hours ago, Bootsie said:

I am curious as to how this was implemented.  Was the flu shot required before the start of the semester to live on campus?  Does that mean that studens were getting flu shots in August? Perhaps you live where schools start later in the year, but where I am students are moving in the dorms by mid-August, which seems early for flu shots to be widely available.

The way it works at youngest's boarding school is that when you do the electronic health paperwork for the year, consent for the annual flu shot defaults to "opt in" (though you are able to slide it over to "opt out" if you squint carefully at the fine print).  Thena  nurse comes around mid-October with a wheeled cart just after have-to-be-in-dorms curfew and jabs everyone down the line.  (The implementation couldn't be quite that easy in college, where there aren't dorm curfews, though.)

Both her boarding school, and son's university, are hosting COVID vaccination events for 16+ within the next two weeks.  Not required but strongly nudged.

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A lot of the anti-vaccine folks are saying that because it's emergency use, that they can't require it. But the Pfizer will be fully approved before long and the others will follow. Assuming colleges can procure shots to cover their populations - which seems super likely by fall - then this won't be any different legally than the requirement for any other vaccines, which are also required by many colleges. Some states have religious exemptions, others don't. You can always get a medical exemption everywhere, but since some people have abused this path, it's harder in some places.

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The school where DH and I teach -- which has been mostly in-person all year-- has not said anything about vaccine requirements yet.  I will be surprised if they don't require it, but OTOH the website currently says that there will be quarantine and isolation housing available in the fall, and you cannot request a vaccinated roommate.

 

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1 minute ago, Farrar said:

A lot of the anti-vaccine folks are saying that because it's emergency use, that they can't require it. But the Pfizer will be fully approved before long and the others will follow. Assuming colleges can procure shots to cover their populations - which seems super likely by fall - then this won't be any different legally than the requirement for any other vaccines, which are also required by many colleges. Some states have religious exemptions, others don't. You can always get a medical exemption everywhere, but since some people have abused this path, it's harder in some places.

Yeah, I doubt any institution in the US will require under EUA (just cuz who needs the risk of cranky lawsuits)... but that looks also like it'll be moot by end-August.

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6 minutes ago, SKL said:

I know people are saying it's no different from other vax requirements, but isn't it, given that it's still such a new vax?  Has there ever been such a new vax required at any US school before?

The meningitis B vaccine is actually really new too. According to one article -- approved in 2014 and 2015

Edited by vonfirmath
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25 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

Two of my kids went to/is just now finishing boarding school for high school, long before COVID, and meningitis was required of all boarders.  I *believe* meningitis was also required to live on campus at both universities the older two attended (but it was moot since they'd already had it so I can't really remember).

 

Re implementation vs timing of annual flu vaccine:

The way it works at youngest's boarding school is that when you do the electronic health paperwork for the year, consent for the annual flu shot defaults to "opt in" (though you are able to slide it over to "opt out" if you squint carefully at the fine print).  Thena  nurse comes around mid-October with a wheeled cart just after have-to-be-in-dorms curfew and jabs everyone down the line.  (The implementation couldn't be quite that easy in college, where there aren't dorm curfews, though.)

Both her boarding school, and son's university, are hosting COVID vaccination events for 16+ within the next two weeks.  Not required but strongly nudged.

Yes, I think there is a very big different at a boarding school and at a university dorm.  For one thing, some students may have access to a flu vaccine at their doctor before the university has its vaccine supply and choose to get a vaccine there.

The university where I teach has received a total of 400 COVID vaccines for distribution so far. We have a student body population of over 10,000.  The university has made available a large parking lot area for a COVID hub, but it has been next to impossible to get an appointment at there; it is not run by the university and there is no priority of appointments for those related to the university.  We have a large nursing school and are affiliated with a medical school.  Perhaps it will change by fall, but right now, the university can't get vaccines to offer to students.  

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6 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

The meningitis B vaccine is actually really new too. According to one article -- approved in 2014 and 2015

Is this vaccine required by any universities?  The state of Texas, for example, require meningitis vaccine, but not B.  

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Northeastern U in Boston has announced that they will require all students to get the COVID vaccine if they want to be on campus (so it seems not only those who live on campus but also those who want to take in-person classes).  They will allow religious and medical exemptions.  They will also assist international students or other students who can't access the vaccine get the vaccine at arrival.

Here's the email to all faculty, staff, and students (including our incoming sophomore):

Dear Northeastern University students, 

 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Northeastern has come together to take every possible step for our community’s health and safety—from wearing masks to healthy distancing to regular COVID-19 testing. Today, I write to announce a new health and safety measure that will help us achieve the full return to campus activities we are planning this fall. Beginning in the fall academic term, all students attending Northeastern University’s campuses will be expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the first day of classes.  

 

Vaccination Requirements  

 

The new vaccination policy applies across our global campuses and to all undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. As the speed of vaccinations and the vaccine supply increases, we expect that vaccines will be widely available in all of the countries where Northeastern maintains campuses by the time in-person classes resume in the fall. Northeastern will require proof of inoculation with vaccines that are approved in the country where the campus the student is attending is located. 

 

Students may request religious and medical exemptions to the policy. Details on how to request an exemption and how to submit your proof of vaccination will be announced in due course.  

 

Accessing the COVID-19 Vaccine  

 

We strongly encourage students to get the vaccine as soon as they become eligible. Northeastern is not currently distributing the vaccine, due to changes in the Massachusetts vaccination distribution plan, but students who are living, working or studying in Massachusetts can access the vaccine through the providers listed on vaxfinder.mass.gov. At our other locations, each campus is updating students on how and where to access the COVID-19 vaccine. For international students who may have limited access to the vaccine, Northeastern will assist you in getting the vaccine soon after your arrival. If you have additional questions, please email the COVID-19 vaccine inbox at covid19vaccine@northeastern.edu 

 

Looking Ahead  

 

The pandemic has shown us the value of face-to-face interaction and the vital place it has in our community and in our mission as a university. As we plan for a return to in-person classes and regular campus activities, we know that achieving herd immunity is crucial for the safety of our entire community. This vaccination requirement is the next step to “Protect the Pack” so we can continue to study, learn, and research side by side.  

 

Sincerely,  

 

Ken Henderson 

Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning   

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re inadequate access to enough vaccine to run campus sites

26 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

Yes, I think there is a very big different at a boarding school and at a university dorm.  For one thing, some students may have access to a flu vaccine at their doctor before the university has its vaccine supply and choose to get a vaccine there.

The university where I teach has received a total of 400 COVID vaccines for distribution so far. We have a student body population of over 10,000.  The university has made available a large parking lot area for a COVID hub, but it has been next to impossible to get an appointment at there; it is not run by the university and there is no priority of appointments for those related to the university.  We have a large nursing school and are affiliated with a medical school.  Perhaps it will change by fall, but right now, the university can't get vaccines to offer to students.  

Dear me, that is super frustrating.  Son's university (about the same size as yours when all the students are there; of course at the moment a lot are NOT there) will run I believe 2 (maybe 3?) events in cooperation with one of the major pharmacy chains.  Dunno how many doses they're going to get but the communications thus far seem to suggest that those who sign up as wanting one, will be able to get one. 

Daughter's boarding school, which is comparatively tiny and also only some of the students are 16+, are doing it in partnership with the same research hospital that has been running their weekly PCR surveillance testing program, which started out in the fall as a part of a public health research program.

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38 minutes ago, SKL said:

I know people are saying it's no different from other vax requirements, but isn't it, given that it's still such a new vax?  Has there ever been such a new vax required at any US school before?

I think it feels different because of the course of things to get here, but that's different from it actually being different, especially from a legal standpoint. Once it's approved, they can require it. In the past, the tradeoff for requiring a relatively new vaccine hasn't been that great. Why rock the boat over the HPV vaccine when the effects take so long to be beneficial and you can just wait and let people get educated and change behavior on their own? But the effects of having an undervaccinated population are undeniably outsized for Covid and those effects lead to huge financial losses for colleges. Thus the greater likelihood of a requirement.

 

34 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

Yes, I think there is a very big different at a boarding school and at a university dorm.  For one thing, some students may have access to a flu vaccine at their doctor before the university has its vaccine supply and choose to get a vaccine there.

The university where I teach has received a total of 400 COVID vaccines for distribution so far. We have a student body population of over 10,000.  The university has made available a large parking lot area for a COVID hub, but it has been next to impossible to get an appointment at there; it is not run by the university and there is no priority of appointments for those related to the university.  We have a large nursing school and are affiliated with a medical school.  Perhaps it will change by fall, but right now, the university can't get vaccines to offer to students.  

Are more vaccines available to students/faculty in your area through the state, FEMA mass sites, or the federal government program to supply local pharmacies? Because I'm thinking that is part of the equation as well. It has been greatly mismanaged in many places, of course, so it's possible that it's that bad. But my guess is there are other nearby channels for qualified persons to access the vaccine if they want to. The rollout is so mixed. In my not-a-state, we were doing so well briefly at the start, then we fell way behind. Some states are doing anyone... others no one can find a dose. But by fall, all indications are that doses will be widely available. In fact, they're already working on the boosters.

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28 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

Is this vaccine required by any universities?  The state of Texas, for example, require meningitis vaccine, but not B.  

When ds was a freshman in 2018, it was required. No one was even allowed to register for classes until they showed proof. Two years later when youngest started at same university, it was longer required but recommended. 

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21 minutes ago, Farrar said:

I think it feels different because of the course of things to get here, but that's different from it actually being different, especially from a legal standpoint. Once it's approved, they can require it. In the past, the tradeoff for requiring a relatively new vaccine hasn't been that great. Why rock the boat over the HPV vaccine when the effects take so long to be beneficial and you can just wait and let people get educated and change behavior on their own? But the effects of having an undervaccinated population are undeniably outsized for Covid and those effects lead to huge financial losses for colleges. Thus the greater likelihood of a requirement.

 

Are more vaccines available to students/faculty in your area through the state, FEMA mass sites, or the federal government program to supply local pharmacies? Because I'm thinking that is part of the equation as well. It has been greatly mismanaged in many places, of course, so it's possible that it's that bad. But my guess is there are other nearby channels for qualified persons to access the vaccine if they want to. The rollout is so mixed. In my not-a-state, we were doing so well briefly at the start, then we fell way behind. Some states are doing anyone... others no one can find a dose. But by fall, all indications are that doses will be widely available. In fact, they're already working on the boosters.

It has been difficult where I am for qualifying people to get vaccinated. The CVS and other pharmacies nearby have not had any vaccines; it is not that they are booked--they have not had any vaccines at all to administer.  DH is 70 years old and had to drive 175 miles round-trip last week (from a major metropolitan area to a small, rural town) to get to a CVS that had a vaccine.   There are some FEMA run sites but you have to live in a particular zip code to qualify. 

I was able to get a vaccine out of the 400 doses the university got.  We first received 100 doses that went to the medical staff and those deemed to be most likely to be exposed and at risk in December.  The other 300 doses came during Spring Refresh (so many students were gone); we were notified at 5:30pm that we could be vaccinated the following morning.  The university had less than 24 hours notice that it would receive the allotment; it does not know when it will receive more.   The one nice thing was that I realized that the head coaches of the important sports teams had not been prioritized in the first 100 doses that the university was able to allocate because they were in line with me.

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I don't think either of the colleges my dds will attend in the fall will require it for commuters but might for dorm residents. The local college just got some J&J that they are administering this week to students. Those who are 2 weeks post-vax (with J& J) won't have to do bi-weekly testing anymore.

I think the covid vaccine(s) will be a new requirement for many things & cause more divisiveness in this country. I'm not looking forward to the anger about it.

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Requiring the vaccine just seems like a practical decision to me. How else could colleges return to normal life? At this point, I'd expect they would worry about liability if they didn't ensure that students (and hopefully faculty and staff, too) on campus were vaccinated.

Dd will be back in a dorm in the fall, after taking classes mostly remotely this year. I'll be very unhappy if her school doesn't require vaccination, but based on their care this year, I expect they will.

I understand reluctance to get a new vaccine, but at this point, that's clearly the least risky option available. Covid-19 is still pretty new also, and has a much worse safety record. On a densely populated college campus, normal life is going to involve getting either one or the other.

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Living in a college town, I sincerely hope there will be a vaccine requirement this fall. What happens at the college affects the entire community. Their case numbers were keeping our county in the highest risk category this winter (almost all cases were in the 18-29 age range), and the result was that restaurants couldn't open, k-12 students couldn't go back to school, parents couldn't go to their kids' sporting events when those started back up, etc. But other nearby counties were in lower categories and were able to do these things. It's more than just me being safe because I'm vaccinated; I want to live in an area with low numbers so we can have a somewhat normal life, and I think that requires college kids to be vaccinated.

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On 4/6/2021 at 10:40 AM, DoraBora said:

Texas A&M still has the following on its website.  Maybe state(?) law means they "cannot be required" yet.

"As the different versions of the vaccine are currently approved only under a Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization, they currently cannot be required of employees or students."

Abbott has signed an executive order that prohibits in place that accepts state or local government money from requiring proof of COVID vaccination to enter or receive services (I do not know if that will also apply to living in a dorm). From airports to nursing homes, these publicly-funded places can't require a vaccine passport in Texas | wfaa.com

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DS's university is making a major effort to get as many students and staff vaccinated as possible before the end of the semester. They have tons of appointments available and an excellent scheduling website that even lets you select whether you want a 1-shot or 2-shot vaccine. DS is scheduled to get his first shot (of 2) this Friday. This is a huge public university, and they estimate that 30% of all students, faculty, and staff have either already had their first shot or have an appointment scheduled.

I have been super impressed with how they have handed covid this year. They set up their own testing facility so students can get results within 24 hours and they require everyone in dorms to test twice a week, off-campus students test once a week, and all varsity athletes must test three times a week. And they are super strict about quarantine and isolation — if you test positive you are whisked off to the isolation dorm, and if you are a contact of a positive person you are taken to the quarantine dorm, and all meals are delivered to your room until the quarantine period is over. Current positivity there is 0.3%, and they are planning for a fully normal fall semester — DS has already registered for fall classes and they are all in person. I'm assuming they are going to require a covid vaccine since they currently require a full slate of vaccines for attendance: MMR, TDAP, Hep B, and chickenpox, plus meningitis for anyone living in dorms.

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On 4/6/2021 at 7:12 AM, Bootsie said:

I am curious as to ho this was implemented.  Was the flu shot required before the start of the semester to live on campus?  Does that mean that studens were getting flu shots in August? Perhaps you live where schools start later in the year, but where I am students are moving in the dorms by mid-August, which seems early for flu shots to be widely available.

Flu shots have been available by mid-August for a few years now. They aren't pushed early by providers because a lot of insurances used to not pay for them till Sept or Oct. This past year, I don't think I saw a single rejection for an August shot, so I think insurance companies are starting to get on board with vaccinating early to build early herd immunity. It also spreads out the toll on healthcare workers who are trying to vaccinate millions of people each fall. 

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I have heard of some universities that scheduled their grad TA's for them. Like, nope, we're not going to rely on you figuring out when to do this. Here's your slot. If you need to change it or object, then let us know.

Edited by Farrar
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On 4/6/2021 at 2:19 PM, Bootsie said:

It has been difficult where I am for qualifying people to get vaccinated. The CVS and other pharmacies nearby have not had any vaccines; it is not that they are booked--they have not had any vaccines at all to administer.  DH is 70 years old and had to drive 175 miles round-trip last week (from a major metropolitan area to a small, rural town) to get to a CVS that had a vaccine.   There are some FEMA run sites but you have to live in a particular zip code to qualify. 

 

This was true a month ago, but now it's relatively easy to get a vaccine appointment in Texas, or at least in Houston but I doubt there's a significant difference in availability in large cities.

If you need another appointment, I've had excellent luck scheduling right after midnight on the Walmart site and keeping the HEB site open and refreshing every 15 minutes or so until a local site opened. I managed to schedule my 18-21 yos at Walmart for appointments this week. There were so many slots I could pick and choose convenient times and locations for all three.

Dd is hoping that she won't have to quarantine before Boot Camp since she'll be slightly more than two weeks past her second Moderna shot. Right now, it's up in the air and not clear what procedures will be in place.

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I think my dc’s university will end up requiring it. The university was able to acquire vaccines just for students and faculty and began sending e-mail links to sign up to all students this week. My dc were already scheduled elsewhere by the end of the month so we’re just keeping those appointments. I saw in the news one large private uni here just announced the vaccine will be required for the upcoming year, so I expect more to follow.

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On 4/6/2021 at 2:19 PM, Bootsie said:

It has been difficult where I am for qualifying people to get vaccinated. The CVS and other pharmacies nearby have not had any vaccines; it is not that they are booked--they have not had any vaccines at all to administer.  DH is 70 years old and had to drive 175 miles round-trip last week (from a major metropolitan area to a small, rural town) to get to a CVS that had a vaccine.   There are some FEMA run sites but you have to live in a particular zip code to qualify. 

I was able to get a vaccine out of the 400 doses the university got.  We first received 100 doses that went to the medical staff and those deemed to be most likely to be exposed and at risk in December.  The other 300 doses came during Spring Refresh (so many students were gone); we were notified at 5:30pm that we could be vaccinated the following morning.  The university had less than 24 hours notice that it would receive the allotment; it does not know when it will receive more.   The one nice thing was that I realized that the head coaches of the important sports teams had not been prioritized in the first 100 doses that the university was able to allocate because they were in line with me.

 

50 minutes ago, chiguirre said:

This was true a month ago, but now it's relatively easy to get a vaccine appointment in Texas, or at least in Houston but I doubt there's a significant difference in availability in large cities.

If you need another appointment, I've had excellent luck scheduling right after midnight on the Walmart site and keeping the HEB site open and refreshing every 15 minutes or so until a local site opened. I managed to schedule my 18-21 yos at Walmart for appointments this week. There were so many slots I could pick and choose convenient times and locations for all three.

Dd is hoping that she won't have to quarantine before Boot Camp since she'll be slightly more than two weeks past her second Moderna shot. Right now, it's up in the air and not clear what procedures will be in place.

What chiguirre said, Bootsie.  I'm not sure which large metro area of TX you're in, that didn't have doses, but it's very widely available at this point. 

If you still need help finding it for people in your family, Walmart, HEB, CVS all are having lots of appointments these days. 

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1 hour ago, chiguirre said:

This was true a month ago, but now it's relatively easy to get a vaccine appointment in Texas, or at least in Houston but I doubt there's a significant difference in availability in large cities.

If you need another appointment, I've had excellent luck scheduling right after midnight on the Walmart site and keeping the HEB site open and refreshing every 15 minutes or so until a local site opened. I managed to schedule my 18-21 yos at Walmart for appointments this week. There were so many slots I could pick and choose convenient times and locations for all three.

Dd is hoping that she won't have to quarantine before Boot Camp since she'll be slightly more than two weeks past her second Moderna shot. Right now, it's up in the air and not clear what procedures will be in place.

Good luck to your DD.

My niece joined last October and coronavirus has significantly impacted her training. She did finally get through basic and is now in Intermediate though.

 

Edited by vonfirmath
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59 minutes ago, TheReader said:

 

What chiguirre said, Bootsie.  I'm not sure which large metro area of TX you're in, that didn't have doses, but it's very widely available at this point. 

If you still need help finding it for people in your family, Walmart, HEB, CVS all are having lots of appointments these days. 

From what I have heard, it has become easier, but can still be difficult around the Fort Worth area.  No one in my family is needing an appointment at this point.  But one of my coworkers had to drive 30 miles out of Fort Worth yesterday.  The CVS pharmacies in this area have big signs that they are NOT giving COVID vaccines.  They show up in the CVS vaccine location as "fully booked" but that simply means there are no appointments being scheduled.  If I had waited for an appointment through my health care provider (Baylor Scott and White) or through the county which I signed up for as soon as I was eligible I would still be waiting for an appointment.  And, no HEB...  As of last week DH drove 175 miles roundtrip for his second shot (and he is 70 years old)--so not easy to get an appointment locally even if you are in Tier 1

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7 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

From what I have heard, it has become easier, but can still be difficult around the Fort Worth area.  No one in my family is needing an appointment at this point.  But one of my coworkers had to drive 30 miles out of Fort Worth yesterday.  The CVS pharmacies in this area have big signs that they are NOT giving COVID vaccines.  They show up in the CVS vaccine location as "fully booked" but that simply means there are no appointments being scheduled.  If I had waited for an appointment through my health care provider (Baylor Scott and White) or through the county which I signed up for as soon as I was eligible I would still be waiting for an appointment.  And, no HEB...  As of last week DH drove 175 miles roundtrip for his second shot (and he is 70 years old)--so not easy to get an appointment locally even if you are in Tier 1

that's just so far off from what I'm hearing from my other friends in the D/FW areas. I'm sorry it's been so difficult for you guys.  

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1 hour ago, Bootsie said:

can still be difficult around the Fort Worth area

Bootsie, I am not certain where you are in Fort Worth, but both my daughter and son-in-law got their first shots at CVS in Fort Worth last week. It was not the CVS near them and they each had to drive to a different CVS (both about 30 minutes away from them in different directions) to get them. I am sorry you are having problems.

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2 minutes ago, LinRTX said:

Bootsie, I am not certain where you are in Fort Worth, but both my daughter and son-in-law got their first shots at CVS in Fort Worth last week. It was not the CVS near them and they each had to drive to a different CVS (both about 30 minutes away from them in different directions) to get them. I am sorry you are having problems.

I don't need an appointment at this point.  But, it is frustrating when the CVS has "fully buooked" and people say you just have to keep refreshing. or log on at 6:00am , or midnight, etc. and then you find out that they simply are not giving any vaccines at the locations near you.  And, most of the searches will do for a 30 mile radius--so you have to keep putting in different zipcodes or suburb areas hoping to hit somewhere that really is giving vaccines and has an appointment.

I just got an email that our university received and administered 1300 doses yesterday (I don't know if that number includes the 400 they already had or not).  They are also expecting about 2500 Pfizer doses next week (but don't know when so they can't schedule a clinic yet).

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Meh.  Many colleges already required 2 doses of MMR, Meningitis, and the flu vaccine and I think many more college students died from Covid in the past year than any of those. I know there was only one pediatric flu death in the past year, and I know we discussed at least two college students with somewhat distant connections to this board who died this year in their dorms due to the pandemic. 

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1 hour ago, TheReader said:

that's just so far off from what I'm hearing from my other friends in the D/FW areas. I'm sorry it's been so difficult for you guys.  

I just checked the sites to see how much has changed.  The closest HEB is 46 miles away and has 1 appointment.  The next closest is 155 miles away with 5 appointments.  No availabilities come up for CVS with Fort Worth, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlingotn, Weatherford, Denton, and a number of the surrounding towns in the search.  I do know of a lot of people who happened to find a random appointment here and there; I also know people who are in Tier 1 who signed up with the county like they were told to do so this would be orderly in distribution back in December, who are still having difficulty finding appointments.   There really has to be a better, more orderly, effiicient way to do this.  Of course, an 8-year old got a vaccine at one of the clinics here last week 😞

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29 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I just checked the sites to see how much has changed.  The closest HEB is 46 miles away and has 1 appointment.  The next closest is 155 miles away with 5 appointments.  No availabilities come up for CVS with Fort Worth, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlingotn, Weatherford, Denton, and a number of the surrounding towns in the search.  I do know of a lot of people who happened to find a random appointment here and there; I also know people who are in Tier 1 who signed up with the county like they were told to do so this would be orderly in distribution back in December, who are still having difficulty finding appointments.   There really has to be a better, more orderly, effiicient way to do this.  Of course, an 8-year old got a vaccine at one of the clinics here last week 😞

It definitely seems to be the case almost everywhere that very online people and/or people who can travel farther have a much easier time finding appointments (at least in urban/suburban areas. Rural areas seem to have more vaccines than demand in most places). And, of course, this generally means that younger people and relatively financially stable people (i.e. have transportation and can take time off work easily if needed) have better access. It's a huge problem. 

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Just checked the enrolled student checklist for L's school for fall. This has been added. Mind you, this is a residential LAC where over 90% of students live on campus, and only upper year and grad students even have the option to NOT be residential. 

 

COVID-19 Vaccination/Waiver
It is likely that students residing on campus will be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine for Fall 2021. We encourage ALL students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. New students are encouraged to upload their card once fully vaccinated into the Medicat portal. OR complete and submit the Immunization Waiver form (link coming soon).

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18 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

COVID-19 Vaccination/Waiver
It is likely that students residing on campus will be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine for Fall 2021. We encourage ALL students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. New students are encouraged to upload their card once fully vaccinated into the Medicat portal. OR complete and submit the Immunization Waiver form (link coming soon).

I wonder if colleges (and airlines, businesses, etc.) will start requiring more proof than just a vax card, since fake cards are being sold all over the internet now. ☹️

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2 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

I wonder if colleges (and airlines, businesses, etc.) will start requiring more proof than just a vax card, since fake cards are being sold all over the internet now. ☹️

What would more proof look like? Especially because so many vaccines are being acquired at random places that are not necessarily keeping much records.

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1 minute ago, vonfirmath said:

What would more proof look like? Especially because so many vaccines are being acquired at random places that are not necessarily keeping much records.

I don't know, but vax cards aren't proof of anything if anyone can just buy one on eBay and fill it in themselves. 

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45 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

What would more proof look like? Especially because so many vaccines are being acquired at random places that are not necessarily keeping much records.

I’m in VA and I got an emailed record with a number associated with my specific vaccine administration. With that number you can pull up my name, DOB, the administrator, and the vaccine lot number.

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On 4/8/2021 at 12:27 PM, kokotg said:

It definitely seems to be the case almost everywhere that very online people and/or people who can travel farther have a much easier time finding appointments (at least in urban/suburban areas. Rural areas seem to have more vaccines than demand in most places). And, of course, this generally means that younger people and relatively financially stable people (i.e. have transportation and can take time off work easily if needed) have better access. It's a huge problem. 

We are in a suburban area but vaccines are available in both local pharmacies and local health departments. It may depend on whether and if state officials chose to partner, broadly, with local government and private groups. Within 4 days of my initial dose, I was contacted to schedule dose #2. My DD is already on the list so she can receive a dose in case we send her to a summer camp (and b/c we’re driving to FL this summer).

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