Students living on campus in residence halls, apartments, and cottages must be vaccinated prior to fall move-in on Friday, August 27. Exceptions will be made for students who seek a religious or medical exemption. A clearer definition of those exemptions are expected closer to the start of the fall semester.
This requirement means students living in any of the Oakland University (OU) six residence halls, Ann V. Nicholson Apartments, George T. Matthews Courts Apartments, or Greek cottages, must be fully vaccinated before check in. Further, the verification of vaccination status must be submitted prior to moving in.
Over 1,500 Moderna shot vaccines were administered last week. OU was going to start to administer the Johnson & Johnson single shot vaccines this week. However, they have now switched over to Pfizer vaccines since the FDA and CDC has recommended a pause of the J&J vaccine, out of an abundance of caution, due to its connections to blood clots in some recipients after receiving the single shot version. Like Moderna, Pfizer is a two shot vaccine – appointments for the second of the two-shot vaccination series will be scheduled at the initial visit, and that appointment will be at an OU site.
“By immunizing our entire community, we can return to pre-pandemic normalcy,” said President Pescovitz. “Along with wearing a mask and social distancing, vaccinations are key for us to repopulate campus, and re-introduce the many special features that make up the OU experience.”
The goal of OU offering vaccines on campus, according to Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, is to provide an opportunity for every member of the OU community to receive a COVID vaccination before the end of spring semester, and to provide a way for all students, faculty and staff to be completely immunized before the start of fall semester.
“We are fortunate that Oakland is receiving these vaccines at a time when Michigan is experiencing a dramatic increase in both the number of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 variants,” she said. “The most effective way to prevent infection and transmission of this virus is vaccination. I expect everyone will do their part and get vaccinated.”
About Rochester Media