On the evening of April 8, Samford University announced it had acquired over 3,000 doses of the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that will be available for all students starting April 14. Then, on April 12, Samford announced that family members of students can sign up for the on-campus vaccination clinic as well. Samford University said it strongly encourages students to take the vaccine.
Colin Coyne, the university’s Chief Strategy Officer, said that as of Sunday April 11, over 1,000 students have signed up for the on-campus vaccination. He also mentioned that Samford previously provided the vaccine to 550 students in high-exposure situations or had pre-existing circumstances.
Along with that, full-time and part-time Samford employees have also been given the opportunity to be vaccinated.On April 9, Samford announced employees’ immediate family members could also register for the vaccine.
“Over 80% of full-time employees indicate they’ve received vaccination against COVID-19 with 74% of those facilitated by Samford,” Coyne said.
Coyne said that feedback from students, faculty and the Samford community has been positive overall. .
“Regarding the most recent clinic, folks seem especially excited that we’ve been able to provide this opportunity in time for returning home and the summer.”
The number of COVID-19 cases on Samford’s campus remains low. According to the Samford COVID-19 dashboard, the average daily cases reported in the past seven days is 0.29, with a total of two positive cases reported in the last seven days.
For more information and announcements from Samford University, visit https://www.samford.edu/emergency/information/coronavirus/.
Katy Beth Boyers is the Editor-in-Chief of the Samford Crimson. She from Nashville, TN, and is majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication with a double concentration in print and broadcasting.
