Wednesdays are set aside for vaccinating eligible faculty, staff and students who live in Philadelphia. Thursdays will be for the members in neighboring communities whose names are provided by the city from its vaccine interest database.
"I'm happy. I first signed up through the City of Philadelphia to get in line for the shot, and then a few weeks later, we were notified that as staff and faculty we were eligible to sign up," said Temple counselor Setrag Shahikian. "It was finally nice that it was opened up to a more broader population."
Those associated with Temple must complete the university's vaccine interest form on its health services website to be considered.
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"I'm actually really excited. I don't have a really good immune system and my fiancé is a pharmacist, so I've been super-scared to leave my house, honestly," said Sinh Taylor, an ambassador/TA at Temple.
So far, university officials said that roughly 4,000 people have filled out the form online.
"Maybe it'll help us to get back to being on campus and getting back to normal as opposed to online school," Taylor said.
Temple had a COVID-19 outbreak last fall, which forced the university to move to mostly virtual classes.
A university spokesperson said that a conversation is happening behind the scenes about whether the vaccine should be required for the upcoming fall semester. No decisions have been made.
For now, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to sign up for the vaccine when they become eligible.
Temple will spend the next three weeks administering the first doses to those who are eligible, which will be followed by the remaining three weeks for second doses.
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