Last week, Public Health – Idaho North Central District lowered COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to age 16, making appointments accessible to all University of Idaho students in Latah County.
The announcement came just hours after Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced all residents over age 16 would be eligible for the vaccine starting April 5.
According to District 2 Director Carole Moehrle, doses and appointments are available, yet they continue to see a decline in demand.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 19% of Latah County is fully vaccinated.
That adds up to roughly 7,737 people, and according to a 2019 census, there are 40,108 people in Latah County. A quarter of those are University of Idaho students.
What would happen to Latah County’s vaccination percentage if every student scheduled an appointment today?
Numbers aside, the more students who receive the vaccine, the brighter the light at the end of the tunnel gets.
There are currently three COVID-19 vaccines recommended by the CDC and authorized by the federal government for emergency use in the U.S. — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s vaccines consist of two shots 21 and 28 days apart. They’re also mRNA vaccines, which means they teach our bodies to make a protein which helps our bodies protect itself from the virus that causes COVID-19, the CDC states. Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine can be given to people 16 and older, while Moderna’s vaccine is recommended for people age 18 and older.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is one-shot recommended for people age 18 and older.
According to the CDC, it’s a viral vector vaccine, which is a “modified version of a different virus to deliver important instructions to our cells.”
From there, our bodies use the instructions to build the same proteins the mRNA vaccines use to protect against COVID-19. All three vaccines are administered with a shot in the upper arm.
UI Director of Communications Jodi Walker said the university “highly recommends” everyone who is eligible for the vaccine get vaccinated.
“It’s the best way we can keep our community healthy and begin to move things back to a more normal way of doing business around the university,” Walker said. “There’s no intention to require it, but we do strongly recommend it.”
UI President Scott Green has urged students and faculty to honor the state’s distribution plan in past communications and the university’s immunization policy “strongly recommends” getting vaccinated. Those who visit Gritman Medical Center’s vaccine clinics at the Student Recreation Center will find encouragement and more detailed information about the vaccines.
We’re all tired of the pandemic. We want to go back to normal, and getting everyone vaccinated against COVID-19 is our best shot at doing that. For the safety and health of our Vandal community, The Argonaut encourages our fellow students to sign up and get the vaccine.
To schedule a vaccination appointment, visit https://www.idahoprepmod.com.
-Editorial Board