West Chester University’s Sturzebecker Health Sciences Center has officially become one of several vaccine clinics organized by the Chester County Health Department. The decision breeds new hope for the university and borough itself in the race against the coronavirus pandemic. However, as the federal government pushes for more vaccine accessibility, some states — and thus their state schools — are lagging behind. Now Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and President Fiorentino are all inches away from the same grindstone.
The Sturzebecker building, which in past years would have served solely as WCU’s base of operations for all athletics and physical education, has had experience as a public health center before. Back in February, the building was commissioned as a one-day mass vaccination site for 1,500 pre-registered Chester County workers, who were then able to receive the Pfizer vaccine. However, per a Health Department communication, the building would go on to become a full time appointment-only clinic as of March 12. This same communique also indoctrinated areas of the Kennett Square Fire Company and the Kimberton Fire Company for the same purpose. All of these additions may be necessary to jumpstart what has been a comparatively stagnant statewide response to necessary vaccination.
As of April 8, Pennsylvania ranks 31st of all US states in percentage of population vaccinated, and 39th of all U.S. owned areas including territories. If you keep in mind that Pennsylvania has the sixth largest population of any state, then some questions begin to pop up on just how this vital public service is being taken. Gov. Tom Wolf addressed this very problem last week at a press conference in Dauphin County, during which he cited a “high population of older people, with folks over the age of 65 making up 18.7% of the state,” a number the Health Department was apparently not prepared for. “I think that led to Pennsylvania maybe getting off to a little slower start” said the governor, who was faced with the fact that Pennsylvania was, at the time of the March 30 conference, one of the few states still not out of vaccination phase 1A.
One of the major corollaries with this stagnation is how it will affect statewide education. PASSHE, of which WCU is a member, is a conglomerate of 14 of the largest state-owned universities in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Of those 14 schools, five (West Chester, Cheyney, Clarion, IUP and Edinboro) have now committed campus buildings or human resources towards the state vaccination effort. On top of this, many of these schools have already doubled down on their intention to allow more students on campus for the upcoming semester, with nine of them already eyeing a full in-person fall. So not only are school budgets straining from the pandemic to begin with, but several are now committing already limited resources to ending it. It is unsure how these schools will balance education with humanitarianism, as facilities that are currently vaccination centers will soon face student reintroduction. Student health must remain a priority in spite of a desired shift to normalcy. A recent report has shown positive yet exceedingly variant results with current on-campus health measures in PASSHE schools. While there have been “less than half the cases than around this time last semester” reported, the load is not equal. For context, Bloomsburg University has reported 120 new cases since the start of January, Cheyney University has reported two.
Regardless of the intentions of higher education, the pandemic rages on. The coronavirus does not care that West Chester University pledges to return students to campus in the fall, nor does it think twice about infecting a Division 1 athlete who hasn’t played in over a year. The only respite will come through max vaccination. In an April 6 press report, President Biden moved up the deadline of vaccine eligibility to April 19, yet tapered this news with words of patience. “We’re still in a life and death race with this virus,” said Biden. “Even moving at the record speed we’re moving at, we’re not even half way through vaccinating over 300 million Americans. This is going to take time.” This announcement did not itself contain a plan to expedite the vaccination progress. This leaves many states to debate whether or not the president’s words are founded in opportunity or optimism. The clinic at Sturzebecker is just one step towards a greater goal, but each step seems to pose more questions. Nevertheless, fall semesters across the country creep closer everyday, as do summer internships and family reunions. Let us hope that we return to a world that’s as normal as we’re convinced it is.
Matthew Shimkonis is a second-year History major with a minor in Journalism. MS925373@wcupa.edu