Next week, the Whitworth COVID Response Team will be partnering with the Spokane Regional Health District to start distributing COVID-19 vaccines on campus. Full-time, traditional, undergraduate students, as well as faculty, staff, lecturers and adjuncts can sign up to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on April 13 or 14.

Randall Michaelis, Dean of the School of Continuing Studies and head of the COVID Response Team, said Whitworth will also hold clinics in April as well as May, for the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. 

“The clinic will be administered by the Spokane Regional Health District with assistance from Whitworth staff members,” Michaelis said. 

While at the moment no decision has been made regarding a school-wide vaccine requirement for this fall, Michaelis hopes everyone in the Whitworth community takes advantage of this opportunity to receive the vaccine.

“Our hope is that current students, incoming students and our employees will take advantage of this access and be vaccinated before school starts in the fall. The goal is to open up as close to normal operations as possible in September,” Michaelis said. “We will keep some isolation/quarantine spaces open but our hope is that the Whitworth community will see vaccination as an important aspect of keeping the campus community healthy and open in ways we have not been able to do since over a year ago.”

To sign up for the clinic, students and staff can follow the link provided in an email to the campus community on April 6.

For more information, watch Pirate Port and the Whitworth COVID Dashboard for updates.