Northern Michigan University's Health Center has confirmed that it will receive an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week. Because it is administered with a single shot, students will have an opportunity to get vaccinated before leaving campus at the end of the semester. The clinics will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, April 13 and 14.
“Students will receive an email with details on dates, times, location and registration process,” said NMU President Fritz Erickson. “We hope to have another allotment the following week for more student vaccinations. Being able to offer clinics for students next week, and possibly beyond, is exciting news.”
Erickson said the Johnson & Johnson doses are free and require no insurance. Appointments are open only to full- and part-time students at this time. They will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, with a waiting list for potential cancellations.
Students are also able to sign up for the Marquette County Health Department vaccination clinics, as are faculty and staff, Erickson added. The MCHD has been mostly administering Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations, which have a three- or four-week period between the first and second shots.
“According to the MCHD, it is possible for students to get a first shot in Marquette and the second shot in their hometowns, as long as it's the same type of vaccine,” Erickson said. “Several area pharmacies are also providing vaccines, including some giving the J&J version.
“All individuals living in the state who are 16 and older are now eligible to receive vaccinations. For now, we'd like faculty and staff to sign up through the Health Department or local pharmacies since the state-allotted vaccine coming to NMU this time is designated for student use only.”
Erickson cited the many reasons to vaccinate. They include: decreased risk of being drastically ill or hospitalized if infected with COVID-10, and of transmitting the virus to others; possibily avoiding a quarantine period if identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive; and increasing the NMU community's percentage of protected individuals, helping Northern get closer to lifting pandemic protocols.
“It helps the efforts toward face-to-face instruction, less restrictive on-campus living and working, and being able to hold and participate in large group campus activities,” he said.