On April 8 and 9, Fordham’s two main campuses briefly became vaccination sites as staff from University Health Services (UHS) and medical personnel distributed 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine to Fordham students. 

According to Mary Ann O’Shea, assistant director of UHS, the Moderna vaccines were acquired through New York state’s vaccine rollout program, which has authorized vaccinations for adults 16 and older in the state. While supply is “limited and not guaranteed,” O’Shea hoped that the university would continue to receive doses to give to community members.

Fordham Public Safety announced that 100 Moderna vaccines would be administered at both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses in an email on April 4. The email also stated that the university would “receive another 100 doses of the vaccine for each campus the following week,” beginning a long-awaited campaign to vaccinate Fordham’s student population.

“The excitement was palpable from the administration to the students.” Tara Lyons, University Health Services nurse practitioner

A follow-up email on April 11 informed students that the university would distribute an additional 800 doses (400 per campus) during the week of April 12. Students can sign up to receive one at Lincoln Center on Wednesday and Thursday or at Rose Hill on Thursday and Friday. 

The email urges students who sign up to make sure they will be in New York for the second dose 28 days later. 

UHS has been preparing to distribute vaccines since the beginning of the semester, setting up a designated location with space for specialized refrigerators, a vaccination room and a post-vaccination monitoring space. Student EMTs from Fordham University Emergency Medical Services assisted in monitoring patients after they were inoculated. The Lincoln Center vaccine site is located in McMahon Hall Room 211, just down the hall from the COVID-19 testing center. Rose Hill vaccines are being administered at O’Hare Hall.

Students and staff were thrilled and relieved to finally have a local place to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “I think it went a lot better than expected,” Tara Lyons, a nurse practitioner for UHS, said. “The excitement was palpable from the administration to the students.”

All vaccinated students also received a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccination Record Card, which details the individual’s name and date of birth, date and form of vaccination, and the scheduled date for the second dose. 

“I decided getting the vaccine was more important than class, so I took the subway up to the Bronx.” Kreena Vora, FCLC ’23

Before Fordham began vaccinating on campus, some students managed to get appointments elsewhere. Fordham informed students several days ago that they would be able to set up an appointment off campus at Doctor Urgent Medical Care on East Fordham Road in the Bronx. Public Safety then notified students in an updated April 12 email that the urgent care center is now accepting walk-in appointments between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day. Students must bring their Fordham ID cards and health insurance cards.

Kreena Vora, FCLC ’23, was vaccinated there on Tuesday, April 6. She was in the middle of a Zoom class when her friend texted her that “they were taking walk-ins.” 

“I decided getting the vaccine was more important than class, so I took the subway up to the Bronx,” Vora said. She waited in line for an hour before promptly receiving her shot. Vora praised the clinic staff for being “super nice and helpful, even taking the time to notice I was nervous and reassure me that I was in good hands.”

United Student Government Vice President Robert Sundstrom, FCLC ’22, received the second dose of the vaccine at Walgreens in Columbus Circle on Wednesday, April 7. “I was out of commission for the day yesterday but today feeling almost back to 100%!” he said on Friday, adding that he “would absolutely recommend that everyone who can get the vaccine sign up as soon as they can (whether at Fordham or elsewhere). Feels like the finish line is getting nearer!”

According to the weekly “Five Things” COVID-19 update email sent by the Office of the Vice President for Administration on April 8, fully vaccinated individuals will not have to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19. The email urged members of the Fordham community to maintain precautions in light of the continued spread of the B.1.1.7 strain of the virus. According to the testing dashboard, 51 people have tested positive between March 28 and April 10, eight of whom are at Lincoln Center.

In this photo gallery, some recently vaccinated Fordham students show off their bandages, excited to start building immunity to COVID-19.

Gallery • 6 Photos

STEVIE CORTEZ