LULA BURKE, News Editor—
Ten words—in bold—are at the top of the website for the Center for Disease Control: Everyone Ages 18 and Older Should Get a Booster Shot.
Students can receive booster shots during the Denison Booster Clinic on Friday, December 10, 2021 from 9-11AM on the third floor of Slayter or at any time at the CVS in Granville. Appointments are required for both, and students should remember to bring their primary dose vaccination card. Those who upload documentation proof to their Wellness Portal are entered into a raffle for Amazon gift cards and Airpods.
An email from Student Life sent Nov. 29 explained that the rise in COVID cases seen before Thanksgiving break could be mitigated by students getting the booster (and continuing to follow masking and social distancing recommendations).
“Before Thanksgiving break, we started seeing an uptick in COVID cases on campus and we are concerned this will continue. We attribute this to a few things: (1) Most students are now more than 6 months past their second vaccine so their effectiveness in preventing infection has waned, even though, importantly, they continue to ward off serious illness and hospitalization; (2) there are marked increases in COVID rates nationally and regionally; and (3) we’ve had more relaxed mask usage in social and residential settings,” said the email.
On behalf of administrators, Associate Vice President of Student Life Julie Tucker ‘09 encouraged that students get the booster as soon as they can—the department is holding the raffle as incentive. Those who uploaded documentation to their wellness portal by Dec. 3 were entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card; those who register by Dec. 10 are eligible for a $100 gift card and Apple Airpods.
“We want all students to get the COVID-19 booster, and the sooner the better in terms of preserving normalcy these last weeks of the semester and in the run up to the winter holidays and break,” she said. “The raffle prizes are intended to increase the number of students who have received the booster and the number of students who upload that documentation into their Wellness Portal.”
COVID-19 booster shots are the same formulation as the current COVID-19 vaccines. However, in the case of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, it is half the dose of the vaccine people get for their primary series. These booster shots are meant to provide extra protection for those who completed their dose of the primary vaccine series more than six months ago, as is the case for many students on campus.
“COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. However, public health experts are starting to see reduced protection, especially among certain populations, against mild and moderate disease,” said the CDC
website.