By Cassidey Kavathas, News Editor
Cattaraugus County was forced to cancel the vaccine clinic for St. Bonaventure University students planned for April 13.
The cancellation was due to the corruption of 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a plant in Baltimore, which caused a nationwide backlog in J&J shipments. The New York State Department of Health told county officials Thursday that they would not be able to provide the 500 doses needed for the clinic.
“When I heard the news I was bummed,” said Raeanne Armbruster, a freshman finance major. “Hopefully we will have another opportunity to get vaccinated before the end of the semester.”
University officials are extremely disappointed that this vaccine clinic will no longer be available to students but are hopeful that another opportunity will come up, according to the Notice Board.
“If the county can secure another shipment of the J&J vaccine before the end of the semester, we might be able to reschedule the clinic,” said Tom Missel, the chief communications officer at the university. “After meeting with the county health director [April 12], that doesn’t seem likely, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
As of April 14, 24% of Cattaraugus County residents have been fully vaccinated, according to the New York Times, receiving either two doses of the Moderna, Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines; or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Federal health officials, under the recommendations of the CDC and FDA, also paused the use of J&J indefinitely on April 13 after several cases of severe blood clotting were reported.
“I was upset about the cancellation,” said Sophie Nix, a freshman special education major. “I’m glad they took action to keep the campus community safe.”
The university will continue to release information about local clinics to students but advises students that vaccines such as Moderna or Pfizer will require the second dose at the same place the first dose was administered. At this time, the university only plans to offer J&J vaccines if they become available.
“The problem is that even if we could get the Moderna or Pfizer, students would have to get their second shot here, too,” said Missel. “For Moderna (28 days), the second clinic would be after students have already left. For Pfizer (21 days), it would be in the middle of exam week. I don’t think many students would want to risk getting their second shot during exam week knowing that there are often side effects with the second dose.”
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“Our goal is to have as normal of a fall semester as possible, and the more people who are vaccinated, the easier that will be to accomplish,” said Missel.
kavathcj20@bonaventure.edu
