Preliminary Vaccination Schedule Released
By: Atishay Jain, Tucker Gibbs, Ashley Jiang, Krish Patel
The Lamont Health and Wellness staff received the COVID-19 vaccine during the last two weeks as part of New Hampshire’s Phase 1b vaccine rollout plan. Academy faculty are projected to receive the vaccine through this March, and students are projected to receive the vaccine through May.
90 percent of the Academy’s staff nurses, athletic trainers and physicians have received the initial dose of the vaccine, which was administered by the National Guard. The Academy plans to continue to follow the direction of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The Health Center has applied to be a vaccine administration site at the Academy.
The distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations in New Hampshire is divided into three phases. According to New Hampshire guidelines, Phase 1, divided into 1a and 1b, addresses frontline health workers, high-risk individuals, individuals over the age of 65 and other adults in residential homes. Phase 2 will take place from March through May, where vaccinations are planned for people between the ages of 65 and 74 in Phase 2a, and people between the ages of 50 and 64 in Phase 2b.
Phase 3 will take place in the latter half of 2021. In 3a, individuals under the age of 50 who are medically vulnerable with multiple conditions will receive the vaccine. In Phase 3b, which is set to take place after May, remaining individuals will have the opportunity to be vaccinated. Currently, only students 16 years and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Director of Athletic Training Adam Hernandez received the vaccine this month. “The process to be vaccinated has been relatively smooth,” Hernandez said. “Because we are on a registry of licensed health care providers in the state, the Health Center staff all received an email from the state that provided a link to an online portal to set a time to be vaccinated.”
The Academy has strongly recommended that those eligible ensure they receive the vaccine, though being vaccinated is currently not required. In a combined statement, physician assistant Erin Bradley and Medical Director Katy Lilly said, “if people have questions or concerns about the vaccine, I encourage them to reach out to a trusted medical provider to discuss them. The best medical decisions we can make for ourselves and our community are the ones that are well informed.”
“Prior to coming to Exeter this past fall, I worked in the emergency department full time. I saw firsthand the devastating effects this illness has on patients and their families, how it taxed the medical professionals, and challenged our resources,” Bradley and Lilly added. “I am tremendously grateful to the scientific community who worked together to develop these vaccines that will help to combat this global pandemic and allow us to move towards increased normalcy.”
