Clark State joins COVID-19 challenge to get more people vaccinated

The college was invited to join the challenge by the White House and U.S. Department of Education.

Clark State College has joined the COVID-19 College Challenge to help get more students, faculty, staff and community members vaccinated.

The college was invited by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education to join the challenge, which launched on June 2, according to a release from the school.

“The health and safety of our students, employees and community members are critical to restarting the economy and closing workforce gaps, and anything Clark State can do to play a part in helping these efforts, whether locally, regionally, or nationally, we will,” said President Dr. Jo Alice Blondin. “The vaccine is an important tool in our toolboxes to getting back together safely in the classroom, in the workplace, and in our leisure activities.”

The College Vaccine Campus Challenge is part of the national vaccine “Month of Action” initiative taking place through July 4, where thousands of people across the nation will mobilize to make it easier to get the vaccine and encourage others to get vaccinated, the release stated.

As a part of this challenge, Clark State has committed to three actions to help get their campus communities vaccinated:

Engage every student, faculty and staff member: Make sure every member of the campus community knows they are eligible for a vaccine and has the resources to find one.

Organize the college community: Lead the way by identifying champions for vaccine efforts across campus and implementing a plan to get as many members of the college community vaccinated as possible.

Deliver vaccine access for all: Meet the community where it is - bring vaccines on-site and make it easy for students, staff and faculty to get vaccinated sites nearby this summer.

“Clark State has demonstrated time and time again its commitment to the health, safety, and wellness of the communities we serve, and we want to provide access to the COVID vaccine for students, employees and community members as part of this commitment,” Blondin said. “We have been fortunate to have a strong vaccination effort in Clark County with such leader-partners as the Clark County Health Department and Rocking Horse Community Health Center, and Clark State wishes to be complementary in these efforts.”

Blondin was also appointed to represent the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) as a member of the Campus COVID-19 Vaccine Initiative Steering Committee, who was “asked to share exemplary vaccination efforts on college campuses to highlight in the White House announcement.”

“As a result of the efforts at Clark State, we were approached to be a part of the official launch. There were several colleges approached, with expectations of asking all colleges and universities to join the challenge,” she said.

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