Area colleges begin vaccinations

Albany County receives extra doses for local students

As New Yorkers aged 16 and up become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines, local colleges are hosting on-campus clinics to get their students inoculated.

Siena College administered the first of two Pfizer shots to 500 preregistered Siena students and staff Tuesday.

University at Albany, in partnership with Russell Sage and Maria College, was expecting to administer 672 doses of Pfizer on Tuesday, with 536 going to Ualbany students and employees and the remainder going to Russell Sage students.

For the University at Albany, it is the second vaccination clinic. The first, hosted last month, focused on faculty and staff.

Albany County is due to receive a supplemental allocation of 1,600

Johnson & Johnson vaccines earmarked specifically for area college students this week, according to county health officials.

County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said the county is expected to have discussions with area colleges later to determine how to vaccinate their student populations against coronavirus.

SUNY is also working to secure single-dose vaccines from Johnson & Johnson in order to inoculate tens of thousands of residential students prior to their departure for summer break.

Some 18,600 J&J vaccines will be distributed to 34 SUNY campuses in the coming weeks, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said Tuesday.

With just one dose, on-campus

students scheduled to finish the semester in early May can get their shot without having to wait weeks for a second dose before going home.

Photos by Lori Van Buren / Times Union Registered nurse Kristen Hallett administers freshman Colin Ingraham’s first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Siena College on Tuesday in Loudonville. Five hundred Siena students preregistered for the clinic.

Students wait after receiving the vaccine at a clinic at Siena College on Tuesday. Area colleges and universities are working to get students vaccinated now that eligibility has been expanded.

Lori Van Buren / Albany Times Union Davaisha Springsteen, LPN, administers a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose to sophomore Morgan Tambolleo at Siena College on Tuesday.