Fairfield is one of more than 300 “Vaccine Champion Colleges” across the country, answering the national call for campus communities to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
In an effort to mobilize as many Americans as possible to get vaccinated, President Biden announced a month-long campaign to administer at least one vaccine shot to at least 70 percent of adult Americans, and to reach the goal of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by July 4.
Along with colleges and universities across the nation, Fairfield University is strongly encouraging its campus population to get vaccinated and has joined the White House and the U.S Department of Education in the effort to end the pandemic by taking on the "COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge."
Participating colleges commit to taking three key actions to help get their campus communities vaccinated: engage every student, faculty, and staff member; organize their college communities; and deliver vaccine access for all.
As part of its ongoing efforts, nearly 1,500 vaccines have been administered at Fairfield University's on-campus vaccine clinics with Griffin Health this spring semester. The University is also offering incentives and helping to facilitate vaccinations off-campus for faculty, students, and staff.
Through the College Vaccine Challenge, the Biden Administration is providing resources like training sessions, tool kits, and educational material to assist colleges and universities in vaccination efforts; facilitating on-site vaccinations at schools; and launching a student corps within the Covid-19 Community Corps to recognize and activate students across the country who are taking extraordinary efforts to draw young people out to get vaccinated and engage the youth community. More than 300 colleges across the nation have already taken the pledge and committed to the College Vaccine Challenge.
The Challenge comes on the heels of new federal efforts announced in early May that make it easier and more accessible for Americans across the country to get vaccinated by increasing walk-in vaccinations at local pharmacies, supporting smaller pop-up vaccination clinics and mobile units, providing support for community-based organizations to hire the staff needed to increase vaccine access, investing in education efforts about the vaccine in underserved communities, increasing outreach efforts in rural communities, and launching a plan to reach newly eligible individuals age 12-15.
