GAMBIER – In a recent issue of the student newspaper at Kenyon College, Salvatore Macchione, an American studies major from Chicago, challenged the administration to come up with a COVID-19 vaccination plan for students.
“Kenyon must take immediate action to produce a COVID-19 vaccination plan,” Macchione wrote in the Kenyon Collegian. “It cannot sit on its hands and leave our community at the mercy of both COVID-19 and the inequitable disaster that is the American health care system.”
Kenyon has a vaccination plan and is currently working with Knox Public Health to implement it “when the circumstances allow,” Chris Smith, director of Health and Counseling at Kenyon College and the college’s COVID-19 steering committee for the campus, told the Mount Vernon News.
“Our COVID steering committee meets weekly with Knox Public Health leadership,” Smith said.
One of the major reasons the vaccine is not yet available to Kenyon students is that the State of Ohio’s vaccination program hasn’t yet designated college students for vaccination. People 65 and older and those with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk are still given priority under the state guidelines.
On top of that, there isn’t yet enough vaccine to meet demand, said Smith, who formerly worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The vaccine supply that Knox Public Health has received is insufficient,” he said. “I really wish they would have greater access to vaccines because they are chomping at the bit to vaccinate people. Especially since the vaccine requires two doses, they have to be very strategic about how they are using what’s received and ensure that people receive that second dose in a timely fashion.”
In the fall semester, nine Kenyon students tested positive for COVID-19, Smith said. Since students returned to campus in January from the holiday break, 22 people have tested positive.
“Each week since the students returned to campus, we have tested all students,” he said.
Smith predicted that it will probably be several months before the vaccine pipeline is flowing well enough to start vaccinating college students.
In the meantime, Kenyon has practiced and gained experience in conducting a campus-wide vaccination program. In the fall, it required students who live on campus to be vaccinated for the flu unless they had a medical exemption.
“We are able to vaccinate 800 students over the course of a few weeks,” Smith said. “I think we have a proven methodology and format. If we can get access to the COVID-19 vaccine from Knox Public Health, we will be ready to partner with them and administer the vaccine as soon as possible.”
.webp)
.webp)
