State sending vaccines directly to colleges to boost rate among young adults

The state is sending 35,000 vaccines to the student population at SUNY schools and private colleges.

This initial allocation will include 21,000 vaccines to be administered to SUNY students and 14,000 vaccines to be administered at private colleges. The vaccines will be administered to residential and non-commuter students who are leaving for the summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

“We’re now focusing on students, and we want to get students vaccinated before the end of the school year,” Cuomo said. “The 18 to 24 population is growing in positivity, and many of them are in colleges and universities. It makes all the sense in the world to use the schools as the base for the vaccine.”

Cuomo urged people to get the vaccine to “help us stamp out the Covid beast.” There have been 12 million doses administered so far in the state, and Cuomo said “overwhelmingly data shows it’s safe and effective.”

He said many young adults see themselves as superheroes, that Covid can’t affect them. But the governor said younger people have died or been badly sickened by Covid. Many others without severe symptoms have “long haul” symptoms and have been affected for months.

Others without symptoms can still spread the virus to others.

“Do you want to play Russian roulette with your life?” he said about people not wanting to get the vaccine.

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said the SUNY system will push to have students vaccinated before they leave for summer break. Getting students vaccinated “is the key to restoring normalcy on our campuses when students return in the fall,” he said.