Carleton University opened its doors for students, faculty and approved contractors to book their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with Carleton’s Health and Counselling Services on June 2.
University students in Ontario have been eligible to receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine since the vaccine rollout expanded to include people 18 and older on May 18.
By June 1, 37.2 per cent of young adults, a total of 69,334 individuals aged 18 to 29 years old, received their first dose in Ottawa according to Ottawa Public Health.
Natalie Whitmore, a fourth-year chemistry student, received her first dose from Carleton’s vaccine clinic on June 3. She said Carleton’s process was done very well.
“Quick and painless,” is how Whitmore described both the needle itself and her experience with the clinic.
“Everything was very organized and everyone was really nice. The nurse was super nice and reassuring,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore said the clinic took extra days to respond to her pre-registration form. She registered through the website on May 27 and did not hear back until June 2.
“I wouldn’t have been upset if they had said it would take longer to make the appointment, I was just worried that I even did the form right,” Whitmore said.
Although Carleton’s Health and Counselling Services could not be reached for comment, its website says students who pre-register should receive a response within 24-48 hours to confirm the date and time of the appointment.
On its website, Health and Counselling Services also confirmed vaccinations will not be mandatory for Carleton students, whether they live on or off campus. However, they do strongly encourage all students, including international ones, and members of the Carleton community to get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
Emily Sowa, a business law student at Carleton University, said she is eagerly awaiting her appointment to receive her first dose.
“I’m not really nervous at all, I just trust science. I’m not even worried about which vaccine I get, when I get it, where I get it. I just want it,” said Sowa.
She also said a few of her peers were initially nervous to receive the vaccine due to potential side effects, but they registered anyway. The third-year student said she hopes as many students get vaccinated as possible.
“We’re all paying so much tuition to learn from our beds, I’d so much rather be doing so on campus and have fun stuff going on,” Sowa said. “That’s only going to happen if we reach a point where enough people are vaccinated and safe from COVID.”
Younger Canadians are more likely to be willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Statistics Canada study from August 2020. The study found 58.1 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 were very likely to get vaccinated, only 51.6 per cent of 25 to 44 year olds and 54.8 per cent of 45 to 64 year olds relayed the same answer.
Jasdeep Kaur Lally*, a third-year Carleton law student currently living in Brampton, Ont., said she had some initial concerns before she got her vaccine on May 12.
“I was feeling very anxious. Not to say I’m [against getting vaccinated] or something, it’s just we don’t have a lot of research on this yet, in my opinion,” said Lally.
The most common causes for hesitancy to get the COVID-19 vaccine in June 2020 were a lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine (about 54 per cent of respondents) and concerns about its risks and side effects (about 51 per cent of respondents), according to Statistics Canada.
Lally said she decided to get vaccinated so she could be as safe as possible in the upcoming academic year.
“I just don’t feel comfortable sitting unvaccinated,” said Lally.
*Jasdeep Kaur Lally has contributed to the Charlatan.
Featured image provided via Carleton’s health and safety website.
