The University of Michigan is providing opportunities for up to 7,500 students to receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at one of several clinics planned on or near the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses over the next two weeks.
The vaccine will be available to U-M students age 18 and older at no cost through clinics on U-M campuses and at Meijer Pharmacy, 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road. Vaccination is free. All shots are by appointment only, and registration is required. Details on how to sign up, along with clinic times and locations, are on the Campus Maize and Blueprint vaccine page.
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Faculty and staff members who have not yet been vaccinated are encouraged to seek out and register at vaccination sites available to them, including private pharmacies or clinics, county health departments, or health systems other than Michigan Medicine where they may be patients.
With all Michigan residents 16 and older now eligible for one of the three approved vaccines — Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen — U-M is offering these opportunities to students because they are at high risk of potentially spreading the virus due to upcoming travel as winter ends. The Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine does not require students to wait for a second vaccine appointment.
“Getting vaccinated will keep you healthy, help us all get back to the activities we love, and reduce our need for as many public health measures in time for the fall semester,” students were told in an April 7 email from President Mark Schlissel; Robert D. Ernst, associate vice president of student life for health and wellness, and executive director of University Health Service; and Preeti Malani, chief health officer and professor of internal medicine.
“The Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine is highly effective at preventing severe illness from COVID-19. There is also accumulating evidence that vaccination prevents infection and transmission of COVID-19 to others,” they said.
While Michigan Medicine has received less vaccine from the state of Michigan than it has the capacity to deliver, it continues to work with Washtenaw County and the state of Michigan to effectively and equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccine as the supply allows.
The state has promised U-M additional vaccine in the coming weeks if it receives adequate supply from the federal government, university officials said. Meanwhile, U-M continues to pursue partnerships that may make more vaccine available to additional members of the university community.
U-M will receive 5,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine and administer them to students April 17-20 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, and at pop-up clinics at UM-Dearborn on April 16 and UM-Flint April 14-15. There will be 4,000 doses available for Ann Arbor, 800 for UM-Flint and 200 for UM-Dearborn.
Students who previously completed the Blue Queue questionnaire and created a MyUofMHealth account already are registered to receive an invitation to schedule a vaccination appointment.
Additionally, 2,000 appointments are available at the Meijer Pharmacy on Ann Arbor-Saline Road. Invitations to schedule will be sent via email on April 12 to all students who pre-register.
In their email, Schlissel, Ernst and Malani said the university is continuing to seek additional vaccine supply from different sources and encouraged students to check the Campus Maize and Blueprint vaccine page for updates.
They also encouraged all students to seek vaccination appointments from all sources. Michigan Medicine has posted tools to help people find vaccines in their area. University Human Resources has created a COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and availability page with resources to help everyone get an appointment through a clinic, pharmacy, health department or Michigan Medicine.
George Woods
From my perspective it appears that front line hourly housing and dining service staff have fallen through the cracks and have not been considered a priority for vaccination.
These employees are at risk to exposure every day they go to work.
Could this situation be improved?
Mariana Flatt
Hi,
I’m a nurse anesthetist at Michigan Medicine and was not eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine when front line worker received theirs due to a previous flu allergy. J&J is formulated different and was wondering if I could receive the vaccine as I’m still doing patient care.
thank you for considering this,
Mariana Flatt, CRNA
Christine Kitchens
I have a lot of mixed feelings around this news. On the one hand, I understand trying to get vaccines to students before they depart for the summer. On the other hand, it seems like it’s actively at the expense of faculty and staff. The onus is being placed on faculty and staff to get their vaccines elsewhere. I’m fortunate that, as a non-medical lab technician, I don’t interface directly with too many folks right now, but I feel bad for folks who ARE in those student/patient facing positions, as the case is for some of the other folks who have commented here. Getting a vaccine in Washtenaw County is particularly challenging right now, so anyone who utilizes public transit is going to face challenges in trying to get appointments outside of town like I’ve seen a lot of places recommending. Please don’t forget your faculty and staff when planning for vaccine dissemination!