DePaul Community Health Team sends out Covid-19 vaccine resources

The+statue+of+John+J.+Egan%2C+located+outside+of+the+Lincoln+Park+Student+Center%2C+wearing+a+mask.

Eric Henry

The statue of John J. Egan, located outside of the Lincoln Park Student Center, wearing a mask.

On April 17, DePaul’s Community Health Team sent out an email to the DePaul community with a list of vaccine clinics and websites students can use to schedule a Covid-19 vaccine appointment. 

The email reads that the state of Illinois has announced a new program called College Vaccination Days to encourage all college students across Illinois to get vaccinated at mass vaccination sites.

This past weekend and next week, state-supported vaccination sites will have appointments available specifically for university students. The Illinois Department of Public Health has stated that it is partnering with colleges and universities in Illinois to help them direct their students to state-supported sites. 

DePaul is still not requiring students to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and there are currently no vaccine clinics offered on either of DePaul’s two campuses.  

The vaccine supply is still limited, and the city of Chicago is focused on providing vaccines based on equity and public health priorities, which precludes DePaul from hosting a vaccine clinic at this time,” DePaul’s Covid-19 Vaccine website reads. 

Although the university will not have any on-site vaccination clinics, there will be a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine clinic on April 22 in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, the email from DePaul’s Community Health Team states.

The event is near DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus and is for Chicago residents only, and requires scheduled appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. 

DePaul is hopeful that vaccine supplies from the federal government will continue to increase and we will be able to host additional clinics on campus. All plans are dependent on DePaul being allocated vaccines,” the email read. 

Students can use DePaul’s Covid-19 vaccine website to view a list of more vaccine clinics in the Chicago area. 

Different sites that have appointments designated for university students listed in the email are in Cook, Kane, Jackson, Adams and Madison counties –– to name a few. 

“Beginning in April, the highest case count in Illinois was among those in their 20’s. Over the past month, cases among those 18-24 years of age doubled,” IDPH’s website reads. 

“DePaul encourages all eligible faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated for Covid-19 at their first opportunity,” DePaul’s vaccination webpage states. “The vaccines are safe, and our best hope for ending the pandemic.”