POUGHKEEPSIE – Vassar College teamed up last week with Westchester Medical Center Health Network to administer more than 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to students. About 440 students were vaccinated on campus last Monday and an additional 85 got their shots at MidHudson Regional Hospital in the Town of Poughkeepsie on Friday, April 16.
College President Elizabeth Bradley said more vaccine is expected to be delivered soon.
“This is another significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to ensure the health and safety of everyone at Vassar,” said Bradley.
Margot Schinella ’06, the college’s director of Health Services, said last week’s vaccinations bring the total number of students who have received at least one shot to about 1,100 – more than one-third of the student population.
Bradley recently announced that all students must be fully vaccinated in order to enroll in the fall, with exceptions for medical or religious reasons, when the college expects to return to full, in-person learning.
Vassar junior Carina Leung was one of the more than 80 students who were transported by bus to MidHudson Regional Hospital for her first COVID shot on Friday. She called the experience easy and painless. “I filled out a consent form, got on the bus, got my shot, waited 15 minutes and came back to campus,” Leung said. “I’ve been stressed for a while about not being immunized, so I’m pleased to be on my way.”
First year student Avery Duer agreed. “It was quick and painless,” Duer said.
Michael Israel, president and CEO of WMCHealth, said the organization had been responsible for managing more than one million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the region. “This historic undertaking would not be possible without Vassar College and the hundreds of other organizations that are working with us – arm-in-arm – to get vaccines intothe arms of all who are eligible,” Israel said.
