ASPPH - Association of Schools of Public Health
06/10/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/10/2021 11:45
White House Announces “COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge”
About The Challenge
President Biden wants as many Americans as possible to get vaccinated. Doing so is critical to saving lives and helping our country return to normal.
While a significant portion of older generations have received the shot, younger Americans lag behind. It is time for younger generations to get their shot. We're all in this together: Ensuring that young people join their parents and grandparents and get vaccinated will not only keep them safe, but it will also protect their families and communities by reducing the risk of giving the virus to someone else.
The White House and the U.S. Department of Education are inviting colleges and universities across the country to join us in our efforts to end the pandemic by signing up for the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge.
Participating colleges commit totaking three key actions to help get their campus communities vaccinated: engaging every student, faculty, and staff member; organizing their college communities; and delivering vaccine access for all.
This effort will build on the program announced by the President Biden on May 11th that matches certain high-enrollment community colleges with partners in the federal pharmacy program to provide vaccination opportunities to students and their communities.
The Challenge also comes on the heels of new federal efforts announced in early May that make it easier and more accessible for Americans across the country to get vaccinated by increasing walk-in vaccinations at local pharmacies; supporting smaller pop-up vaccination clinics and mobile units; providing support for community based organizations to hire the staff needed to increase vaccine access; investing in education efforts about the vaccine in underserved communities, as well state and local vaccine outreach efforts; increasing vaccine availability and outreach efforts, as well as testing and mitigation, in rural communities; and launching a plan to reach newly eligible individuals age 12-15.
Everyone has a role to play in ending this pandemic, including your college or university. As President Biden stated in looking ahead to July 4th:
In two months, let's celebrate our independence as a nation, and our independence of this virus. We can do this. We will do this.
The Challenge: 3 Key Commitments
Colleges participating in the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge have raised their hands and committed to taking three action steps:
Engage every student, faculty, and staff member
Make sure every member of your campus community knows they are eligible for a vaccine and has resources to find one.
Organize your college community
Lead the way by identifying champions for vaccine efforts across campus and implementing a plan to get as many members of your college community vaccinated as possible.
Deliver vaccine access for all
Meet your community where it is: bring vaccines on-site, and make it easy for students, staff, and faculty to get vaccinated at sites nearby them this summer.
How To Sign Up For The Challenge
Signing up to participate is easy. Below are some FAQs to get you started!
That's up to you. We are asking our campus partners to make their plans public, and as a part of that, to track their own progress with their college communities, and to share successes on social media with #COVIDCollegeChallenge and #WeCanDoThis.
Yes! Once we verify that you are a campus representative, we will add your name to our Challenge Participant list.
Yes! Every college and university in the United States can be a part of this Challenge - and we invite every one of them to be. Many colleges and universities are leading the way and already taking actions like these; we invite every college to join the Challenge as they do so. The more colleges step up and the more momentum we build, the better we reach young people in getting vaccinated. Every vaccination is one step closer back to the campus life we know and love.
By participating in the Challenge you help your college, your community, and your country to beat this virus. It's on all of us to do all we can to get back to normal - and taking responsibility for vaccine efforts in your college community will go a long way towards this goal.
All institutions who sign up and take the pledge will be listed on the White House website, and we will feature Vaccine Champion Colleges throughout the summer in social media, events, and remarks. We will facilitate events for colleges to learn from each other - panels, communities of practice, and more - and we will provide toolkits, best practices, communications materials for engaging parents, and briefings with Administration officials.
Every college and university in the United States can be a part of this Challenge - and we invite every one of them to be. Many colleges and universities are leading the way and already taking actions like these in their college communities; we invite every college to join the Challenge as they do so. This Challenge builds on the exemplary leadership of college presidents across the nation, and extends it to all who commit to taking action to increase vaccination rates in their college communities. Taking the pledge to be a Vaccine Champion College can be a part of every colleges' efforts to plan for the summer and the fall. We want all colleges to step up - as so many already are.
The Administration is matching certain high-enrollment community colleges with partners in the federal pharmacy program to provide vaccination opportunities to students and their communities. These community colleges will work to get word out to students, staff, and local communities to make use of these clinics, especially for students who are on or nearby campus this summer. If you are a high-enrollment community college interested in participating in this initiative, Email [email protected] for information.
Resources & Materials
Be sure to check back over the summer for updated resources.
Challenge Participants
Alabama
- Huntsville Bible College
- Talladega College
- Troy University
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Alabama, Birmingham
- University of North Alabama
- University of South Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
- Dine College
- Estrella Mountain Community College
Arkansas
- University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff
California
- Cal Poly Pomona
- California Institute of the Arts
- California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
- California State University Channel Islands
- California State University Dominguez Hills
- California State University Maritime Academy
- California State University San Marcos
- California State University, Bakersfield
- California State University, Chico
- California State University, East Bay
- California State University, Fresno
- California State University, Fullerton
- California State University, Long Beach
- California State University, Los Angeles
- California State University, Northridge
- California State University, Sacramento
- California State University, Stanislaus
- California State University-Monterey Bay
- Compton College
- Concordia University, Irvine
- Harvey Mudd College
- Humboldt State University
- Lake Tahoe Community College District
- Loma Linda University
- Menlo College
- Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles
- Pasadena City College
- Riverside City College
- Sacramento State
- San Diego Mesa College
- San Diego State University
- San Francisco State University
- San Jose State University
- Sonoma State University
- Stanford University
- University of California Los Angeles
- University of California San Diego
- University of California Santa Barbara
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Irvine
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, Merced
- University of California, Riverside
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of La Verne
- University of San Diego
- University of Southern California
- University of the Pacific
Colorado
- Adams State University
- Colorado Mesa University
- Colorado University Anschutz Medical Campus
- Fort Lewis College
- Metropolitan State University of Denver
- University of Colorado Anschutz
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- University of Northern Colorado
Connecticut
- Albertus Magnus College
- Asnuntuck Community College
- Capital Community College
- Central Connecticut State University
- Charter Oak State College
- Connecticut College
- Eastern Connecticut State University
- Fairfield University
- Gateway Community College
- Goodwin University
- Graduate Institute
- Hartford Seminary
- Holy Apostles College and Seminary
- Housatonic Community College
- Manchester Community College
- Middlesex Community College
- Mitchell College
- Naugatuck Valley Community College
- Northwestern Connecticut Community College
- Norwalk Community College
- Paier College
- Paier College of Art
- Post University
- Quinebaug Valley Community College
- Quinnipiac University
- Sacred Heart University
- Southern Connecticut State University
- Three Rivers Community College
- Trinity College
- Tunxis Community College
- University of Bridgeport
- University of Connecticut
- University of Hartford
- University of New Haven
- University of Saint Joseph
- Wesleyan University
- Western Connecticut State University
- Yale University
Delaware
- Delaware State University
- Goldey-Beacom College
- University of Delaware
District of Columbia
- American University
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Howard University
- Trinity Washington University
- University of the District of Columbia
- University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law
Florida
- Barry University
- Bethune-Cookman University
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Larkin University
- Rollins College
- Saint Leo University
- University of Central Florida
- University of Miami
- Webber International University
Georgia
- Agnes Scott College
- Brewton-Parker College
- Emory University
- Georgia Southern University
- LaGrange College
- Mercer University
- Morehouse School of Medicine
Hawaii
- Chaminade University of Honolulu
- Hawaiʻi Community College
- Honolulu Community College
- Kapiʻolani Community College
- Kauaʻi Community College
- Leeward Community College
- Maui College
- University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo
- University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa
- University of Hawaiʻi, West Oʻahu
- Windward Community College
Idaho
- Boise State University
- Idaho State University
- Lewis-Clark State College
- University of Idaho
Illinois
- Augustana College
- City Colleges of Chicago
- Eastern Illinois University
- Elgin Community College
- Harper College
- Illinois State University
- Loyola University Chicago
- Moraine Valley Community College
- National Louis University
- Northeastern Illinois University
- Northern Illinois University
- Oakton Community College
- Roosevelt University
- Sauk Valley Community College
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Western Illinois University
Indiana
- Indiana Institute of Technology
- Purdue University
- Purdue University Fort Wayne
- Valparaiso University
Iowa
- Central College
- Clarke University
- Des Moines Area Community College
- Drake University
- Luther College
- University of Iowa
Kansas
- Haskell Indian Nations University
- Johnson County Community College
- Kansas State University
- University of Saint Mary
- Wichita State University
Kentucky
- Brescia University
- Jefferson Community and Technical College
- Lindsey Wilson College
- Midway University
- Northern Kentucky University
- Transylvania University
- Union College
- University of Pikeville
- University of the Cumberlands
Louisiana
- Centenary College of Louisiana
- Dillard University
- Grambling State University
- Southern University and A&M College
- Tulane University
- Xavier University of Louisiana