Fairfield University held its fourth vaccination clinic in partnership with Griffin Health on Jan. 27 in the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Students were able to receive their first, second or booster vaccination at the clinic. Pfizer Bio-N-Tech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccinations were offered.
There will be a second clinic this semester planned for Feb. 17 in the Rec Plex from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Students can sign up for this clinic online.
This clinic comes after the Omicron variant has run rampant throughout the country.
Julia Duffy MS, APRN, BC, director of the Student Health Center offered insight into the importance of increasing vaccinations amidst the Omicron surge.
“The more transmissible omicron variant is making all of our current mitigation measures even more important,” Duffy said. “We are primarily focused on vaccinations, masking and testing as measures to keep our community safe.”
As of Jan. 31, the campus community is over 93.5% vaccinated. However, Duffy emphasized a need to receive a booster dose, though the University remains without a vaccination mandate.
“There is evidence that the primary COVID-19 vaccinations are providing reduced protection over time against mild and moderate disease,” Duffy said. “Receiving a booster vaccination when one is eligible offers optimal protection and helps to protect our entire community.”
This semester, the University altered the guidelines for its COVID-19 weekly surveillance testing. Last semester, those who were considered fully vaccinated after receiving their one or two-dose vaccine were not required to be a part of the weekly surveillance testing. However, this semester, any community member without a booster dose will need to test weekly.
The “weekly testing requirement only applies to individuals that are eligible for the booster vaccination, but are not yet boosted” Duffy clarified.
On Jan. 16, the CDC updated its vaccination guidelines to now recommend booster shots for eligible people in order to qualify as “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccinations.
Duffy further states that this “particular subgroup is considered more at risk for COVID-19 infection than individuals with an ‘up to do date’ vaccination status. Testing this subgroup with a higher risk profile will help us to identify and contain infection in a timely way.”
The Mirror reached out to Fairfield University Vice President of Marketing & Communication Jenn Anderson for further comment and asked her how many people participated in the clinics, the shifting definition of who is “fully vaccinated” and whether a vaccine mandate is under consideration. Anderson did not answer any of these questions and instead stated, “Over the past year, Fairfield has seen strong participation in our vaccination and booster clinics which have resulted in a 93% overall vaccination rate and 70% booster rate that is continuously increasing as individuals become eligible to receive the booster.”
Students should upload updated vaccination cards to the University student health portal available at www.fairfield.edu/immunization.
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