Campus Life | February 6th, 2021

FAMU’s Road Back to Recovery in Light of the Vaccine

By: A-Chai’a Jackson

The road back to normalcy is currently a work in progress as Florida A&M University (FAMU) works to partner with health care professionals to put a plan into place that will assist students and the older generation, who have the first point of contact with the vaccine.

According to tallahassee.com, it states that  FAMU is in discussion with state agencies to begin offering COVID-19 vaccines initially to persons 65 and older, however, a number of doses and a time frame to put this plan into action is yet to be determined, hence could take weeks to solidify.

Leon County officials stated they received a total of 2,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday afternoon and had administered 1,745 doses out of that percentage. 

Tanya Tatum, director of Student Health Services at FAMU, said that she recommends Bragg Memorial Stadium be a notable site in compliance with COVID-19 testing that is suited to receive state-administered vaccines.

“We have offered the location as a possible {vaccine] site,” Tatum said. 

Tatum states that her team of healthcare professionals has spoken with the Florida Department of Health and have high hopes to start issuing vaccines at Bragg Stadium.

Bragg Stadium doubling as a COVID-19 testing site has given access to local residents and college students. Moreover, making the site a vaccination location will similarly help the Southside minority communities who are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. 

Students at the center of all the madness are willing to take necessary methods to assure the student body continues to place safety at the fore of priorities. The first step to their recovery model is to consider the vaccine.

Jade Imani Franklin, a psychology student at FAMU, says that she is willing to do what is necessary to protect herself and her fellow students.

“Honestly, as afraid as I am and [with] little faith that I have in our government and Western medicine, I will be taking the vaccine. Safety is always my biggest priority. I would not want to put myself or anyone else in harm’s way,” Franklin said. 

The pandemic has stripped away the fun from students’ college experience, including the heralded Set Friday, football games, and homecoming –  leaving rattlers mentally drained and uncertain of what the future holds.

“I miss football season the most. Football season is a time where happiness is in the air, the band is playing their hearts out and everyone’s favorite-homecoming. I miss FAMU culture,” Franklin said. 

President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., in his pursuit to lead the university during these unprecedented times, said although this has been a challenging year, the goal to keep FAMU at the top would not be possible without a confident team of faculty and staff who believe firmly in the success of our students.

“We have to keep our constituents informed of what we are doing, and not just informed, but hearing from them and incorporating their input into our plans as we move forward,” Robinson in an exclusive interview with Journey said.

It takes a task force of people to alleviate the burdens of this pandemic for students whose livelihoods and educational experience has been affected both physically and emotionally. Robinson was sure to note that he does not take this for granted.

“It’s been a challenging year, but due to the fact that we have a highly confident team that believes firmly in the success of our students and understand why we are really here, we have been able to navigate this extremely well,” Robinson said.

Robinson also shared in the interview that because he is part of the 65 and older cohort, which is the priority group eligible for vaccination. He took the first initiative to receive the vaccine, but this decision was a personal choice outside of the plan that is currently a work in progress.

The road back to normalcy at the university is dependent upon the outcome of student wellness, in terms of corvid-19 reports. As President Robinson stated, if more students test negatively, this could be a step in the right direction. However, no promises are made at this time.