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It's the sting that Yellow Jackets welcomed with open arms. For many students, getting the COVID-19 vaccine at Baldwin Wallace University represents more than an ounce of prevention, but a syringe full of hope.
Members of the BW community rolled up their sleeves (literally and figuratively) to dispense hundreds of the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccines to students under the State of Ohio's campus vaccination initiative in early April.
Cassidy
Prather
'21
was
the
first
student
to
receive
a
vaccine
when
the
clinic
opened.
The
sport
management
major
and
member
of
the
women's
lacrosse
team
says
she
didn't
hesitate
when
the
vaccine
was
offered.
"I work at a summer camp back home in upstate New York," Prather explains. "I want to protect the kids, protect my parents and others. I was very excited to learn I could get it here."
The vaccine rollout is started with competing student-athletes, with hundreds of appointments available to all students on Saturday and Sunday of the clinic.
Approximately
700
current
BW
students,
graduate
and
undergraduate,
and
including
those
from
out-of-state,
took
advantage
of
the
opportunity
to
receive
the
single-dose
vaccine
developed
by
Janssen
Pharmaceuticals,
a
subsidiary
of
Johnson
&
Johnson.
The FDA authorized the emergency use of the Janssen vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older; the agency paused use of the J&J vaccine following the BW clinic to investigate a small number of blood clotting incidents out of millions of vaccinated Americans.
Led by BW Health Services and faculty and students in the physician assistant and nursing programs, BW staged the multi-day vaccine clinic in the Lou Higgins Recreation Center. Additional faculty and staff volunteers are stepping up to help with directions and data entry to get the job done.
Two weeks after a student is fully vaccinated, they will no longer be included in BW surveillance testing and will not need to be quarantined for exposure to those who test positive for COVID-19.
Dawson Gabe '23, sustainability and business major, said immunity for him will kick in for part of the Yellow Jacket baseball season, which runs late into May. "I decided to get it for peace of mind and to stay healthy for the season," he explained.
"My
family
encouraged
me
to
get
it
since
all
of
them
are
getting
vaccinated,"
said
Angelina
Minisall
'24.
The
freshman
psychology
major
and
BW
softball
player
has
never
known
BW
without
COVID-19
health
protocols
in
place.
"I
definitely
think
the
vaccine
offers
hope
for
fewer
restrictions
next
year,
especially
if
a
lot
of
people
are
getting
it."
Dale Grubb, who chairs BW's Health Advisory Committee, emphasized that masks will continue to be required through the end of the semester as mandated by the state and public health best practices.
"We are grateful to the State of Ohio and Governor Mike DeWine for making the vaccine available to our campus. Our students have been terrific at complying with health protocols all year, and the availability of vaccinations bodes well for our ability to enhance our in-person experience in the fall as our state and nation work toward herd immunity."
In announcing the plan to offer vaccines on campus, DeWine said, "It is a strategic move to vaccinate them on campus before they get out in early May, get out in the summer, and scatter throughout the state and throughout the country."
