By Adrian Velonis, Co-Editor-in-Chief
On April 2, Haverford administrators sent an email to students, faculty and staff announcing that the college had partnered with Rite Aid to vaccinate all students and employees for free starting the week of April 7. The college will be offering community members two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, to be administered 21 or 28 days apart, respectively. Students and employees do not have to live on campus in order to qualify; all are welcome to receive immunizations. Bryn Mawr students are currently not eligible for vaccinations through Haverford, even if they take classes there.
This news arrived in the wake of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s March 31 announcement that the state would widen eligibility for the vaccine under Phase 1A of its vaccine rollout plan that day, which mainly covers essential workers and those with comorbidities. He stated an intention to move to Phase 1B on April 5—which would cover all college students living in congregate housing, even those without pre-existing medical conditions.
Priority will be given to Haverford community members who already qualify for the vaccine under Phase 1A, with others being asked to wait until after April 4 to sign up for appointments. The health center also clarified that it would aim not to waste any doses, maintaining communication with the Haverford community in case there were opportunities for leftover shots to be administered at the end of the day.
Haverford had announced plans for such a program previously in the academic year, including an email from Vice President Jesse Lyttle sent on March 26 stating that “Haverford is doing all it can to be ready to distribute doses in accordance with Pennsylvania’s prioritization framework should it become possible.” However, many students anticipated being vaccinated through the college closer to May, and some have already sought (and obtained) vaccination appointments off-campus.
Since hearing the news, students have been elated at the prospect of getting vaccinated through the college. Asked about his opinion on the vaccine rollout, Jack Crump ‘23 stated, “I’m glad that the college will manage to get us vaccinated before we leave for the summer. I hope everyone takes it.” Some 300+ Haverford students out of 1300 are remote or on leave this semester, but students share their excitement for the vaccine rollout across the board. “As someone who’s remote, I’m excited Haverford is offering vaccines to students on campus, and a return to all in-person classes in the fall is really exciting,” said Rafael Jovel ‘22.
With the possibility of vaccinating the entire campus by early or mid-May, many students have wondered how campus life would be expected to change in the coming weeks. The college has seen some violations of its COVID policies in the past, but no campus-wide parties have been held since spring 2020, and students are ready to let loose. Organizers of “Haverfest,” Haverford’s traditional weekend-long end-of-semester rager, have announced that the event would indeed be held this semester “in every way that we can.”
However, administrators have reminded students that the college’s health and safety guidelines would most likely remain on the “conservative” side even if the community becomes vaccinated. “Public health authorities with whom we are consulting continue to underscore the importance of maintaining a clear and consistent approach for all individuals on campus in order to best protect the health of all of our community members, even if we are erring on the side of caution for a limited period of time,” Lyttle stated in his email. “The one exception is that vaccinated individuals who have had a close COVID contact will not be required to quarantine, per new CDC guidance.”
But Haverford’s ability to inoculate students this early in the rollout has also prompted reflection among many. João Pedro de Carvalho ‘22 noted in an April 2 tweet that “While yes of course I’m super happy Haverford is able to get everyone vaccinated on campus, it does make me think a lot about the privilege it is to study in such a wealthy institution.” Lacking the organizational support of somewhere like Haverford, many Pennsylvanians are left to navigate vaccine appointment sign-up sites on their own, disadvantaging those without consistent broadband internet or familiarity with government protocols and hampering the rollout. Black neighborhoods in West Philadelphia in particular have had extremely low rates of vaccination among residents; as of March 26, residents of some such ZIP codes have received as few as 26% of the doses per capita as residents of the predominantly White neighborhoods of Center City.
Bryn Mawr has not yet announced an initiative to match Haverford’s. “We are working to develop a partnership with an area pharmacy to distribute the vaccine on campus to our eligible employees and those students who qualify for phase 1A or 1B vaccination, when it is available,” Dean Jennifer Walters stated in an email sent on March 31. “That said, since we have no guarantees that we will be successful, if you have another pathway to vaccination in keeping with PA guidelines (or with your home state if you are from a nearby state), we encourage you to pursue that pathway.” Students are not necessarily optimistic: “I’m pretty sure Bryn Mawr isn’t going to be able to distribute vaccines to us by the end of the semester,” said Laura Tague ‘22.
Walters’ email also stated that “We hope to communicate vaccination expectations for the ’21–’22 academic year sometime in the summer.” Haverford and Bryn Mawr have jointly announced plans to be fully in-person in the fall 2021 semester, but neither school has explicitly stated whether the COVID-19 vaccine would be mandatory for enrollment at that time. “Under current protocols, the College is not requiring students to get vaccinated in order to live and/or work/study on campus,” Lyttle wrote in his email. “This policy is likely to change, and we will let you know if and when it does and how to comply. For your health and that of those around you, we strongly encourage vaccination as soon as you are able.”
Image credit: AARP, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Haverford College
