Many of the state’s largest public universities said they’re planning to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccines after Gov. Brian Kemp announced he’s directing the state to expand vaccine eligibility to all adult Georgians as of Thursday.
Kemp’s plan allows several million Georgians to now get shots, particularly college students who didn’t meet one of the health conditions that were included in the eligibility list. About 340,000 students attend the University System of Georgia’s 26 schools.
Some students and faculty complained at the start of the fall semester that the University System and its schools didn’t provide enough COVID-19 tests on many of its campuses. The larger universities offered more testing than the smaller ones, in some cases creating their own tests.
Several University System schools were administering the vaccine to students and employees who met the eligibility requirements. The University System said in a statement Tuesday evening it will work to supply additional doses.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the University System of Georgia has worked closely with the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Governor’s Office to keep our campuses healthy and safe. Our institutions already have received more than 20,000 doses which are being administered actively to eligible students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, volunteers from multiple campuses have volunteered their time to assist with vaccination efforts both on and off campus. We will work to administer additional vaccines for students, faculty, and staff as the state of Georgia and our institutions receive additional vaccine supply.”
The University of Georgia said it is currently able to provide at least 1,000 shots a day, depending on supply. University officials sent a message to students and employees Wednesday saying they’ll begin inviting various groups, those who have comorbidities first, to set up appointments.
Kennesaw State University said it is prepared, in partnership with Wellstar Health System, to vaccinate students and employees as it receives more doses from the state. KSU senior Taliyah Henderson, 20, said she wants to get the vaccine, but like many of her friends, she has questions about its effectiveness. She’s part of a group of students who provides classmates packages with face masks, hand sanitizer, COVID-19 testing sites and other information.
The University of North Georgia, which has administered more than 400 doses, will soon operate a mass vaccination site on its Gainesville campus, starting April 6.
At Georgia Tech, officials said Wednesday they have received additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Thus far, they have administered more than 7,000 doses. Georgia Tech said in a message to students and employees that it will provide second shots to people on campus who received their first shot at another site once they submit a ticket to an internal website.
Georgia Tech student Ubin Baek, 22, and her sister, Sori, 27, a Princeton University graduate student taking courses remotely, received their first vaccine shots Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The sisters said they’ve been trying to get the vaccine since they were approved for emergency use in December. They said many of their friends were eager to get the vaccine.
They said they wanted to get the vaccine to protect themselves from COVID-19. There was another reason they found irresistible. Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut to anyone showing they’re received the vaccine.
“We’re going to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts,” Sori said.
