With an initial batch of 500 doses, Boston University (BU) will begin vaccinating members of the university community on Friday, January 15. The process will take place over the course of the next few months, inoculating 45,000 people.
The initial vaccination on Friday will be offered to healthcare workers and clinical support staff in the BU community. This primary inoculation is voluntary, and will follow state guidelines on who gets priority.
Steps Toward Healing
Procurement of the vaccine from Moderna is a result of the efforts of Boston Medical Center, BU’s teaching hospital. With the state of Massachusetts designating the university as the point of distribution for the BU community, the college will continue to receive doses from the medical center.
"The development & distribution of the coronavirus vaccines were a highlight of 2020,"- BMC's Special Pathogens Unit medical director, @BhadeliaMD joined @WGBH to weigh in on the historic moments & biggest lessons learned of the past year: https://t.co/Q1p12f4DMe
— Boston Medical Center (@The_BMC) January 12, 2021
However, the university will still have to align its distribution with state prioritization guidelines. With over 13,000 COVID-19 deaths in Massachusetts, the state needs to adjust to federal vaccine supplies and regulations to ensure the public has access as early and efficiently as possible.
Public Concern
While everyone is in a rush to get back to normal, some concerns surrounding vaccine development remain. To ease safety concerns, Director of Student Health Services Judy Platt, encouraged the community to trust science and the approval process.
The director further implored the community to think about what the vaccine meant to them. “By getting vaccinated, you can be one of the many that helps to stop the pandemic. The arrival of the vaccines themselves won’t end the pandemic—the number of people who choose to get vaccinated will,” she said.
Elsewhere in the country, other states and universities have started vaccinating members of their communities as well. The University System of West Virginia began vaccinating in late December, while the University of Florida started inoculating its staff last week. Northeastern University also started vaccinating last week, prioritizing frontline workers and first responders.