Indiana Daily Student

IU to distribute COVID-19 vaccine to students, faculty, staff for free

<p>Community Health Services Clinical Manager Amy Meek injects the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine into Medical Assistance frontline worker Zaira Hernandez’s left arm Dec. 18, 2020 at the Employee Health Services building in Bloomington. “This is just an extra barrier,” Hernandez said when discussing what it means to receive the first vaccine in Bloomington.</p>

Community Health Services Clinical Manager Amy Meek injects the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine into Medical Assistance frontline worker Zaira Hernandez’s left arm Dec. 18, 2020 at the Employee Health Services building in Bloomington. “This is just an extra barrier,” Hernandez said when discussing what it means to receive the first vaccine in Bloomington.

IU will provide COVID-19 vaccinations to all students, faculty and staff, Dr. Aaron Carroll, IU’s director of mitigation testing, confirmed during a webinar Wednesday. 

The vaccine will be provided free of charge to all students, faculty and staff, regardless of health insurance.

It’s unclear whether IU will mandate the vaccine like it did the flu vaccine this winter.

Dr. Lana Dbeido, IU’s director of vaccination, is leading IU’s plans for vaccinating students. In early December, before the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been approved, the Indiana Daily Student reported that IU was working with the state on distribution and it was unclear which vaccine IU community members would receive.

Related: [Monroe County plans to open new COVID-19 vaccination site next week]

Carroll did not provide any further clarification on which vaccine students will receive. IU hopes to begin vaccinating community members in April or May, Carroll said. The state will determine who receives the vaccine first, when it is administered and how many doses IU will receive. However, IU plans to vaccinate all students, faculty and staff. 

IU has not yet released a full plan for how it will distribute the vaccine. Carroll said many details remain unclear, especially with the slow vaccine roll out in Indiana and across the country. 

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