*Published on January 9, 2021
To all members of the Northeastern community,
Earlier this week, Northeastern became one of the first universities in the United States to begin vaccinating its campus community. This important milestone marks a critical turning point in our continuing efforts over the last ten months to safeguard the health of the Northeastern community and help hasten the end of the pandemic.
In late December, the university was officially designated as an authorized Massachusetts COVID-19 Vaccine Provider. As such, Northeastern may now administer the vaccine to all of its students, faculty, staff, and external vendors in accordance with the Massachusetts vaccine distribution timeline. Last Thursday—less than 48 hours after receiving its initial vaccine shipment—the university completed administration of the full batch of 200 doses it received.
As of this writing, the Commonwealth remains at the beginning of its Phase I distribution. Most COVID-facing health care workers across the state have now received the vaccine—including front-line employees at Northeastern’s Cabot Testing Center, Life Sciences Testing Center in Burlington, and select UHCS personnel. Next week, police and first responders across the Commonwealth—including at Northeastern—will also be vaccinated.
Northeastern’s distribution timeline—including the timing and number of doses we receive—depends on the Commonwealth’s ability to distribute it to providers. As the Commonwealth receives increased supply from the federal government, our campus vaccination timeline may be accelerated—particularly for Phases II and III that are slated to begin in February and April, respectively.
Vaccinations on the Boston campus are being administered at the Cabot Testing Center. Human Resources is coordinating the process of identifying community members who are, consistent with the state’s detailed categorization guidelines, eligible to receive the vaccine in each phase. This includes creating a tool for Northeastern community members to indicate if they have one or more co-morbidities. We expect this tool to be operational by Monday, January 25th.
As you become eligible, you will receive notification from the university inviting you to schedule a time for your first vaccination. You will also receive a reminder to schedule your second dose for 21 or 28 days later, depending on the type of vaccine you receive.
We join the global community in celebrating this new stage of COVID-19 response and the leadership role Northeastern is playing in administering the vaccine. A team of university leaders is also working with national, regional, and local public health authorities to vaccinate our campuses across the global network.
For most in our community, the vaccine is still several weeks away. In the meantime, and with active cases continuing to rise in the Boston region, we must stay committed to the healthy actions that keep us safe—wearing a face covering, monitoring our health through the Daily Wellness Check, keeping a healthy distance from others, washing hands frequently, and completing required COVID-19 testing.
Please visit the university’s COVID-19 FAQs for further information on vaccine distribution and what it means for our community. In the days ahead, we will continue to keep you updated and informed about this important next stage of our COVID-19 response.
Sincerely,
Ken Henderson Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning
David Madigan Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs