Vaccinations
By: Andy Horrigan
Although the United States vaccinates millions daily, Exeter students are a part of the last group in New Hampshire’s vaccination plan, group 3B. With New Hampshire hoping to transition into phase 3B of vaccination distribution by late May, it is realistic to expect our community to have access to vaccines by the fall. However, where does the responsibility for individual vaccination fall? We have no tangible plans for what the coming year is going to look like. Must students procure vaccinations for themselves, or is it the responsibility of the academy?
As part of their promise to be an equitable community, it is the Academy’s responsibility, both on and off campus, to protect those of us hailing from different countries, creeds and socio-economic backgrounds. Vaccination is crucial to the return of a safe campus. Exeter, as an institution, has the funds, resources and connections necessary to acquire vaccines, and thus must help students acquire them. Some international students may not have the ability to receive the vaccination due to the lack of accessibility in their home country. Similarly, low-income students may not have the resources in their local community or household for that same luxury. In the name of equity, the Academy must determine which students are unable to acquire vaccines of their own accord and work with them to acquire one. This work must begin now.
It is in the Academy’s best interest in terms of health and safety to work towards a completely vaccinated community. Complete vaccination is only viable if funded and managed by the administration. If the Academy solely places their trust in students to get vaccinated, it is not only inequitable, but we may face the same frustration and dangers that our current situation holds. In a partially-vaccinated community, the Academy would need to maintain quarantine centers, weekly testing procedures and other requirements that have made it nearly impossible to form a true sense of camaraderie this year. Beyond unnecessarily consuming the Academy’s resources, partial vaccination would prove dangerous in establishing a false sense of safety on campus.
The key to a smooth return in the fall is communication and transparency between the administration and the student body. Throughout the summer, the Academy needs to work with students to figure out who has access to the vaccine and who will need to be vaccinated when they arrive. This can reasonably be facilitated through a series of surveys asking about vaccination accessibility, as well as other factors, such as medical history and religious reasons that may prevent students from receiving the vaccine. The administration also needs to communicate with the state of New Hampshire to ensure that we can secure vaccines for those who are arriving on campus unvaccinated. If the vaccination schedule goes as planned in New Hampshire, it is a reasonable goal to attain enough vaccines by September.
Most importantly, the academy must be proactive. We should not receive a last minute email that is sent one month before we return in the fall, as seems to be the case with current Coronavirus restriction updates. Instead, the Academy must continuously inform the student body of the availability of vaccines and the process for attaining them. This process must begin by the end of this school year in order to ensure students who will not have access to the vaccine have a tangible plan to acquire one.
As we look to the fall with hope for normality the responsibility to deliver that solely depends on the actions of the administration throughout the coming months. The Academy must immediately begin transparent, comprehensible plans regarding vaccination for the following year. It is in the best interest of the Academy to ensure each and every one of us are vaccinated; the administration cannot expect us to all be vaccinated without their aid. It is imperative the Academy utilizes their assets in order to ensure every student is vaccinated by the beginning of the following year, in order to ensure the safest and most equitable return to campus.
