Calvin University Approved as COVID-19 Vaccination Site

Calvin University is the first West Michigan university approved by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immunization  to serve as a COVID-19 vaccination site.

The Grand Rapids university has served as a vaccination site in the past. Dr. Laura Champion, Calvin University's medical director, said in a release,

When Calvin University won the college flu shot challenge consecutively for two or three years in a row, the state health department came out to present us with the award, and while they were here, they did a site visit. They were impressed with the setup here at Calvin.

Sarah Visser, vice president for student life and co-chair of the university’s COVID Response Team, says Calvin is well-equipped to serve as a vaccination site:

It is a huge perk for Calvin to have a medical space on campus to facilitate this effort, and a staff of medical professionals under the direction of a medical doctor equipped to carry out this work. Our health services clinic has historically been a vaccine site, and we have been planning and gearing up to be a mass vaccination clinic. So, we are ready to hit the ground running.”

While approved by MDHHS, the university now must wait to receive its allotment of vaccinations.

“We are very grateful to Calvin University Health Services for opening their facility to help expand vaccine distribution in our community. Any time we can expand distribution channels to get more vaccines in arms, that’s a good thing,” said Dr. Adam London, director of the Kent County Health Department. “But it’s important to remember, vaccines are still in very short supply. Currently, we do not have enough doses to reach everyone who is eligible. We ask the community to please be patient and understanding with those on the frontlines of the vaccination effort.”

West Michigan residents can go to Vaccinate West Michigan’s website to check on their eligibility and visit the registration page to complete a questionnaire and sign up to receive notification when they become eligible for the vaccine.

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