The university announced that the Human Resources department will be hosting a booster shot clinic for community members and individuals of the wider Waltham community, according to an email sent by Robin Switzer, Vice President of Human Resources, on Nov. 15. The clinic will have both Pfizer and Moderna doses available.
“Please share this information with your family and Brandeis neighbors, as this clinic is open to all eligible adults who pre-register,” wrote Switzer.
The university will be collaborating with its pharmacy partener—VaxinateRx—to bring the boosters to campus. VaxinateRx is a company that works towards streamlining the vaccination process, according to their page. The university has previously partnered with VaxinateRx to bring the flu shot clinic to campus and the COVID-19 shots available to community members last year, according to previous Hoot articles.
Individuals aged 18 years or older will be able to make appointments at the university’s clinic. They will not be providing pediatric vaccination doses for children and minors, according to the email. Both Pfizer and Moderna shots will be offered to community members; in the previous COVID-19 clinic held in spring 2021 only Pfizer was available, according to a previous Hoot article.
The vaccinations will be held in Hassenfeld Conference Center, according to Switzer. The COVID-19 clinic will be held on Thursday, Nov. 18; Wednesday, Dec. 8; Thursday, Dec. 9 and Tuesday, Dec. 21. For all of the days, the clinic will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. except on Dec. 21 when the clinic will close at 1 p.m., according to the email.
Pre-registration is required for the clinic on the VaxinateRX portal; there will not be any walk-ins accepted. The email announced that due to the high-volume expectancy of appointments they can not accept walk-ins. Registration will be on the VaxinateRX scheduling portal, community members will receive a confirmation email once their appointment has been scheduled. The email suggests that those who sign up for their appointments check their spam folders for the confirmation email.
On the day of the scheduled appointment community members should come with their COVID-19 vaccination card from their prior doses and their health insurance card, according to the email. The vaccine is free of charge for all individuals whether or not they have insurance. At the clinic, individuals will be asked to sign a consent document as well as stay for at least 15 minutes after receiving the shot in case of any reactions or immediate side effects, according to the email.
Those receiving their shot must be wearing a mask, in accordance with the university’s mask policy, and it is recommended that individuals wear a shirt with easy access to the upper arm where they will be receiving the shot. According to the email, passports will be checked at the clinic and they must be either green or yellow.
Non-Brandeis individuals receiving their shot at the clinic will have to provide a copy of their Visitor Daily Health Assessment either on their phone or a printed out copy. Individuals from outside of the Brandeis community are asked to follow the visitor policy outlines on the university page.
For more information about boosters and which one to get, community members are encouraged to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
