UR hosts COVID booster clinic on Thursday

The University of Richmond will host a booster clinic for all eligible students, faculty and staff at the Robins Center from noon to 7 p.m. on Thursday, according to an email sent to the campus community on Jan. 24. 

Appointments are required to receive the shot and appointment scheduling will close on Tuesday, according to the email.

The clinic, staffed and operated by the Buford Road Pharmacy, will be offering community members the choice between the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster vaccines. Those with appointments may choose depending on which vaccine they have previously received and which booster they’d prefer, according to the email.

The booster vaccine is being provided by UR at absolutely no cost, wrote David Hale, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Jeffrey Legro, executive vice president and provost, and Shannon Sinclair, vice president and general counsel.

While UR does not require booster shots for students, faculty and staff, students must report their booster status, according to the Jan. 3 email. Undergraduates and law students can update their vaccination status on the Health Center portal and graduate students can update their status through this form.

The administration is in the process of collecting booster data of community members and expects to make it available on the COVID-19 dashboard in the future, wrote Cynthia Price, associate vice president of media and public relations, in a Jan. 23 email to The Collegian.

Sophomore James Barbour said he thought the on-campus clinic was a positive step by UR and would be beneficial for the campus.

“There’s no downside,” he said. “They’re giving us every opportunity…and they’re not making us get it.” 

First-year Luis Montano said he agreed the clinic would be a good resource.

The email provides information on eligibility for receiving a booster shot and points to the CDC website for further questions regarding which vaccine to get. In the event that community members cannot find a time that works with their schedule, booster shots are available through other healthcare providers and local pharmacies, according to the email.

The CDC encourages those who are eligible to get a booster shot to do so in order to decrease the risk of infection and serious illness to the COVID-19 virus, according to its website. Likewise, UR  encourages those who are eligible to get the booster shot to take advantage of the free clinic to increase herd immunity and decrease infection and transmission rates on campus, according to the email. There are 39 active COVID-19 cases on campus and there have been a total of 172 cases in the spring term, according to UR’s COVID-19 dashboard.

While UR has a 97.7% student vaccination rate, the on-campus booster clinic encourages continued caution around COVID-19, according to the Jan. 3 and Jan. 24 emails. 

“It’s awesome. You should get it if you can so that we can stay on-campus and not have to do virtual classes,” first-year Zach Mittelman said. 

Mittleman already received his booster shot over winter break but would’ve gone to the clinic if he hadn’t, he said.

Contact news writer Zoe Beede at zoe.beede@richmond.edu.