Campus News

UB to begin vaccinating students

A syringe and a vial of the Janssen Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on a light blue background.

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine should give students full immunity before they leave campus at the end of the semester.

By SUE WUETCHER

Published April 7, 2021

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“As the availability of vaccines expands to include students and all individuals, the university is hopeful that the pandemic will be coming to an end and life on UB’s campuses will begin to return to a more normal existence. ”
John DellaContrada, vice president
University Communications

Update, 9 a.m., April 13: In coordination with SUNY and following a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UB will pause plans to use the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine at an on-campus vaccination site for students scheduled to open on Thursday in the Student Union. UB will provide more information about its plans for the on-campus vaccination site over the next few days.

The health and safety of UB students, faculty, staff and visitors remains paramount in all of the university’s plans and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Editor's Note, April 7: All UB students are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest guidance from SUNY.

UB soon will begin vaccinating students who reside on campus as part of a SUNY program designed to vaccinate students against the coronavirus before they leave campus at the end of the spring semester.

Students — who may now receive the vaccine as eligibility expanded to anyone age 16 or over as of April 6 — will receive the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine. Since the J&J vaccine requires only one dose, students can be fully vaccinated before going home for the summer next month.

Planning currently is underway to establish a vaccination site for students on UB’s North Campus, says John DellaContrada, vice president for communications, adding that more information will be communicated to students in the coming days.

SUNY plans to initially distribute 18,600 doses of the J&J vaccine to 34 SUNY campuses, and is currently working with New York State to secure additional doses to be reserved specifically for SUNY students residing on campus. Those will be distributed to more campuses in weekly installments over the next several weeks. 

“We remain grateful to our students for their dedication and patience during this very challenging academic year,” DellaContrada says. “As the availability of vaccines expands to include students and all individuals, the university is hopeful that the pandemic will be coming to an end and life on UB’s campuses will begin to return to a more normal existence.”

So far, 2,300 students have reported through Daily Health Check that they’ve received the vaccine, and nearly 1,000 employees have been vaccinated.

The university will continue to provide updates to members of the university community via the UB COVID-19 planning and response website.  

SUNY is inviting students to share their purpose for getting vaccinated on social media with a photo or short video as part of the #ItsYourTurn and #KnowYourVax public education campaigns to make sure all students get vaccinated. The complementing campaigns were launched last month to dispel vaccine myths and misinformation, and to link students, faculty and staff with reliable information from experts about the many benefits of receiving one.