Ally Fahner
Contributing Writer
It’s important that people still take caution to maintain their well-being, despite COVID rates drastically decreasing since March 2020.
Therefore, although the COVID-19 has receded, it’s vital for people to understand that resurgence is possible, especially with the holiday season approaching, Dominican health experts say.
“New variants [of COVID] are possible and keep showing up,” said Elizabeth Heintz, assistant clinical director of the Wellness Center.
Dominican already requires students, staff and faculty to have the basic COVID vaccination (first two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or the first dose of Johnson & Johnson), and highly recommends that they get the booster shots.
The Illinois required immunizations are also necessary such as measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
Failure to get the basic vaccination or other immunizations leads to a $75 fine, a hold on registering for classes and a lack of accessibility to campus.
Those with medical or religious exemptions can be excused from the vaccination requirement.
Students can get vaccines and certain immunizations at the Wellness Center via appointment. In addition, monthly on-campus clinics provide flu shots, other vaccines and sometimes COVID boosters. These clinics have also provided HIV testing and counseling, which is in collaboration with a community partner.
The most recent clinic was Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offered COVID vaccines/boosters for all ages and mpox vaccines for those that were eligible.
Mainly, if people are feeling sick, Heintz recommends that they wear a mask, stay a healthy distance from others, practice hand hygiene, get enough sleep and reduce stress.
Medical Care Coordinator Kathiana Anam agrees.
“It’s not just us,” she said. “We have to protect the community around us. You might not get very sick but your friend might.”
Psychology student Cali Carlson likes Dominican’s approach.
“I do feel relatively safe on Dominican’s campus,” she said. “Us requiring the vaccine was a wonderful move. To keep us safe in the future with the resurgence of COVID, it’s important that we stay vaccinated and get our boosters.”
For more details, people can follow the Wellness Center on Instagram @duwellness. Further vaccination clinic information can be found there.
Other resources that students can acquire about health trends are through the CDC and Dominican’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
If a student is students are worried or has questions about their own health, they can call the Wellness Center and make an appointment. The Wellness Center will then inquire about the students’ symptoms and run some tests to figure out what may be wrong. Additional steps will then be taken.
