UB to resume J&J vaccines for students

UB will resume its plans later this week to administer 200 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine to select groups of students.

SUNY, in partnership with New York State, has allocated COVID-19 vaccines specifically for students at colleges and universities across the state. UB will be receiving doses of the J&J vaccine, which has been approved for individuals 18 and older. The J&J vaccine, which requires only one dose, will be distributed to students by invitation. There will be no out-of-pocket costs for students receiving this vaccine.

UB Student Life sent out email notifications to public-facing students who are regularly on campus. These include orientation leaders, tour guides, FSA student-employees and Campus Living student-staff members.

Student Health Services will lead the distribution of the vaccine at the newly launched UB student vaccine clinic in 145 Student Union, North Campus, on April 29 and 30.The clinic, which is operating in collaboration with the Erie County Department of Health, will be open by appointment only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

UB will notify students if the university receives additional doses of the J&J vaccine.

UB’s current health and safety guidelines strongly recommend that students, faculty and staff get vaccinated because it is the best way to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.

Students are being urged to book appointments at the state-run clinic in Harriman Hall on the South Campus, which will begin accepting walk-in appointments on Thursday, or at other clinics across Western New York or in their home communities, especially now that the supply of vaccine has become readily available.

The WNY Vaccine Hound website can help members of the UB community find available appointments in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties.

As of April 27, more than 3,200 students and more than 1,650 employees had self-reported via UB’s Daily Health Check that they are fully vaccinated, meaning it has been at least two weeks since they’ve received their final dose.

UB experts such as Nancy Nielsen, senior associate dean for health policy in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, reiterated that the J&J vaccine is safe.

“Remember, we’ve had 7 million people that have already gotten it,” Nielsen said recently on WBFO, the NPR affiliate in Buffalo.

“What is the risk of dying of COVID? It’s one in 586 people. That’s far higher than the risk of getting a blood clot from J&J (vaccine).”

The university on April 7 announced plans to vaccinate students 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. However, in coordination with SUNY and following recommendations from federal agencies, UB announced six days later that it was pausing administering the J&J vaccine.