University officials were notified this morning that higher education institutions in West Virginia will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines for faculty and staff as early as Dec. 27.
We have been told to anticipate that we will receive regular, weekly supplies of the vaccine for the next several months. We believe there will be enough vaccine to inoculate everyone who wishes to receive it.
To help make the first wave of vaccine distribution and administration as efficient and effective as possible, we have been asked to survey employees about their willingness and availability to receive both an initial vaccination and the required follow-up vaccination in the coming weeks.
If you work at the university, MURC or the Marshall University Foundation, are willing to be vaccinated and plan to be in town over the holidays, please complete our quick COVID-19 Vaccination Survey no later than noon tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 11.
Consideration for prioritization for vaccination will be given to those individuals 65 and older and to those with underlying medical conditions that put them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus. Everyone who completes the survey will receive follow-up information as plans are finalized.
For now, we anticipate that all vaccinations will be administered on the Huntington campus. Employees who work in the South Charleston or Mid-Ohio Valley Center locations will need to travel to Huntington if they wish to receive a vaccine.
If you are not available for these initial dates in December/January, please watch for future announcements of additional vaccination dates.
The vaccinations are entirely voluntary. If you do not want to receive a vaccine at this time, you do not need to complete the survey.
All survey responses are confidential and will be used solely for the purposes of prioritizing and scheduling vaccinations.
Please address any questions to COVID19@marshall.edu.