Beginning this week, Temple University will administer vaccines to eligible students, faculty and staff and to Philadelphia residents at its White Hall vaccine clinic, The Temple News reported. The site will be open two days a week for at least six weeks. Students, faculty and staff who live in Philadelphia will be vaccinated on Wednesdays and city residents will be vaccinated on Thursdays.
The clinic will offer the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during the first three weeks and offer the second dose in the last three weeks. The Pfizer vaccine requires two shots at least 21 days apart, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Students, faculty and staff can complete a vaccine interest form online and will be invited to make an appointment if they are eligible.
The Editorial Board encourages students and faculty to stay informed on the changing and developing vaccine eligibility guidelines and vaccination distribution sites in the city.
Currently, Philadelphia is in Phase 1B of vaccination distribution, which includes frontline essential workers facing risk of exposure, people with high-risk medical conditions, people working or living in congregate spaces and individuals aged 65 years or older. Health care workers and long-term care facility residents and staff became eligible for vaccines during Phase 1A, which began in December 2020.
The city is aiming to move into Phase 1C, which includes essential workers, like sanitation, transportation and maintenance staff, in April and into Phase 2, which includes anyone 16 and older who isn’t vaccinated, on May 1, The Temple News reported.
Temple urged students to also sign up at locations outside of the university due to short supply of vaccinations in its vaccination clinic announcement on March 22.
The Editorial Board echoes the university’s announcement encouraging students to find other vaccination sites and urges students also to check their eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Students can sign up to be vaccinated at pharmacies located near Main Campus, like the CVS Pharmacy on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 12th Street or the Rite Aid locations on Broad Street near Susquehanna Avenue or on Cecil B. Moore near Oxford Street. The Editorial Board urges eligible students to frequently visit the CDC’s vaccine finder, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s vaccine lookup tool, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s vaccination map and others, to find clinics nearby that offer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, Philadelphia has 200 vaccination sites including the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Black Doctors Consortium and community groups using private contractors and pharmacies, 6ABC reported.
The Editorial Board commends the university for opening its clinic because it will give North Central residents more opportunities to be vaccinated and encourages students wanting to get vaccinated to check their eligibility and know where vaccines are offered near them.
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