ATLANTA — NOTE: This story will be updated as responses come in
With Georgians 16 and older now eligible for the vaccine, colleges are hoping for a return to normal campus life, and many local universities are trying to make the vaccination process easier for students and staff.
Here are schools' plans as shared with 11Alive:
Berry College: Next Wednesday and Thursday (March 31 and April 1), Berry College will partner with Floyd Medical Center to offer vaccine shots to any student/faculty/staff (over 16 years of age) on campus.
The University of Georgia: The University Health Center will contact individuals when it’s their turn to be vaccinated. Vaccines are by appointment only. Invitations to schedule appointments will be issued in this order: 1. All those 16 or over with comorbidities, 2. 35-54 who don’t have comorbidities, 3. Then anyone 16 and older.
Georgia State University: GSU provided a link for students, faculty, and staff to register and will administer vaccines at Veterans Memorial Hall in Dahlberg Hall on 66 Gilmer St. “while supplies last”
Emory University: Starting Thursday, March 25, students can schedule a vaccination through Emory Healthcare. The university will offer shuttle services to and from Northlake mall for students and staff who might now have a car on campus or needs help getting to their vaccination clinic.
Kennesaw State University: Clinical staff from Wellstar Health System, nursing students, and volunteer faculty from KSU’s Wellstar School of Nursing will administer the vaccine. Students will be emailed when to schedule their appointment, as long as they’ve filled out their vaccine interest form posted on their website. Students are still able to fill out the interest form.
Georgia Institute of Technology: Georgia Tech is asking students to register for a vaccine appointment using MyTest.Gatech.edu. They will continue opening appointments as more vaccine becomes available and will be sending out notifications when there are new appointments. Students can subscribe for updates at mytest.status.gatech.edu.
Georgia College: The college said it's been encouraging eligible students to register to receive their vaccination for several weeks, even hosting a vaccination clinic last week on campus. With the Governor making the vaccines available to anyone 16 and older, the college said it will also organize another vaccination clinic Thursday, March 25. "Our goal is to offer more of those clinics to our campus community in the future--as long as we can continue to receive doses of the vaccine from the state." They also said those who are not able to schedule an appointment on campus, we refer them to the Department of Public Health’s website for other vaccination options available in their area. We will follow the guidance from the University System of Georgia, as well as the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health as we work to keep our students and campus community safe from the spread of COVID-19.
11Alive reached out to the University System of Georgia regarding vaccine plans, also asking whether the vaccine could be required for students for future semesters. In response, a spokesperson sent the following statement:
"Since the beginning of the pandemic, the University System of Georgia has worked closely with the Georgia Department of Public Health and the governor's office to keep our campuses healthy and safe. Our institutions have already received more than 20,000 vaccine doses, which are being actively administered to eligible students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, volunteers from multiple campuses have volunteered their time to assist with vaccination efforts both on and off-campus. We will work to administer additional vaccines for students, faculty, and staff as the state of Georgia and our institutions receive additional vaccine supply."