Higher Ed Workers Get in the COVID Vaccine Line
Inside Higher Ed
Elizabeth Redden
January 13, 2021
Public colleges in West Virginia and Florida are among the first in the country to begin administering the coveted COVID-19 vaccines to certain faculty and staff who do not work in health care.
The University System of West Virginia began administering COVID-19 vaccines to faculty and staff age 50 or over late last month. In Florida, where individuals age 65 or older are eligible for the vaccine, the University of Florida has been administering them to faculty and staff aged 65 or over since last week. Florida State University is expected to begin vaccinations for faculty and staff age 65 or over as early as this week.
States are setting their own priorities for distributing the limited quantities of vaccine currently available, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has provided recommendations to assist with state-level decision making.
In line with the ACIP’s guidance, the first phase of vaccination has focused mostly on health-care workers – including workers at academic medical facilities — and residents of long-term care facilities. But some faculty and staff who are not working in health care-related fields are among the next in line.
