As summer approaches, state officials are encouraging college students to get vaccinated. Students are able to transfer vaccines to their hometowns if they receive their first dose on campus.
Acting physician general for the Pennsylvania Department of Health Dr. Denise Johnson says students can get the second dose anywhere. They just need to make sure to get the same vaccine.
“Remember that for the mRNA vaccines, which would be the Pfizer and the Moderna, they're not interchangeable so if you had Pfizer for the first dose you need Pfizer for the second," Johnson said.
Johnson said vaccination rates have decreased in the state as more vulnerable individuals have already been vaccinated. She said college students don’t always see “compelling reasons” to be vaccinated.
“The majority of cases are mild, but there are still severe cases. And there also are long term effects, even in people who have had mild disease, so I think that younger people may not understand the urgency needed to get the vaccine," Johnson said.
The Bryce Jordan Center is a vaccination site with both the Moderna and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The site will remain open on Monday and May 6-10.
The Department of Health is also encouraging students and visiting family members to drop in for a vaccination during their graduation celebrations. Walk-ins are welcome and Bryce Jordan Center is across the street from Beaver Stadium, where graduation ceremonies will take part.
