The University has applied to be a point of distribution for the COVID-19 vaccine and is awaiting approval from the state of New Jersey.
Mary Anne Nagy, Vice President for Student Life and Leadership Engagement, mentioned the application in an email sent to University students on March 4. “If you are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please consider getting it,” Nagy wrote. “Monmouth University has applied to be a point of distribution, but we do not know when that approval will be given so if you have a chance to get a vaccine, please do.”
This is not the first time that the University has applied to administer a vaccine. “In the past, Monmouth has been able to apply to be a vaccine distribution site when there was the avian flu H1N1, so we thought it might make sense for us to once again apply to become a distribution site for the campus,” said Nagy.
If the University were to be approved as a distribution site, it would not be open to the general public. “We would be what they call a closed POD, or a closed point of distribution. Only Monmouth University people and those that are directly affiliated with us would be able to be vaccinated within our site,” explained Nagy. “So we wouldn’t become a mega-site for people in the local community to be able to be vaccinated here on campus.”
“We actually applied some time ago, when we knew that the vaccine was going to become available. Right now, we continue to wait to hear whether or not we will be approved,” said Nagy. “There’s obviously a certain amount of resources that are available, and the state could decide that there’s enough sites and that people from Monmouth can go there instead.”
Even if there are other distribution centers locally, having a site on campus could be beneficial. “We think that the easier we make it for people to get the vaccine on campus, the more likely people are to get one,” explained Nagy. “Students would literally be able to walk out of their residence hall and over to where we are thinking of doing this, which is in Boylan Gym, so we can continue to do our testing in the lobby of the OceanFirst Bank Center.”
Nagy went on to explain the importance of getting the Covid-19 vaccine, whether it be Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson. “The vaccines seem to be extraordinarily effective at helping manage the COVID-19 pandemic. It doesn’t mean that you can’t get COVID, but the likelihood of dying or being hospitalized is minimized,” said Nagy.
She continued, “We many not be able to prevent people from getting COVID-19 altogether, but I think we can do an awful lot to help by taking the vaccine, wearing a mask, washing our hands, staying appropriately distanced from people, avoiding large crowds, all those kinds of very basic things that we’ve been doing for the past year. I think that the vaccine is one of the most effective ways for us to really begin to move forward as a campus, as a state, and as a nation.”
“We have every intention to return to as normal of a fall semester as we possibly can. We’re working hard to try to make that happen, but we also have to follow whatever regulations the state of New Jersey requires,” said Nagy. “This past fall, the state required us to de-densify residence halls as much as possible and close open lounges for public use. We had to minimize visitation in residence halls and switch to entirely take-out food at the dining hall. Whatever the state says we have to do, Monmouth University will obviously follow that.”
“Hopefully we will be able to have some kind of loosening of these restrictions. I think we’re starting to see a little bit of that now. Just recently, restaurants were allowed to open at 50% capacity. Indoor gatherings increased from 10 to 25 people,” said Nagy. “I know it’s small increments, but I think it’s a positive step forward. Our hope is that we will have a much more open campus by the upcoming fall semester than what we experienced this fall.”
“President Biden has indicated that he expects every American adult will have access to the vaccine by May 1. Whether you have access to the vaccine here on campus or at a local pharmacy or other distribution center, if you have the opportunity to take the vaccine and you have an inclination to do so, don’t wait for Monmouth to be named a point of distribution,” said Nagy. “Get it whenever and wherever you can.”
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