COVID Update: Faculty and staff continue to receive vaccines

By Christopher Garrett//

About a third of Hood College employees have received their COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the Hood College spokeswoman.

“We have about 100 faculty and staff members who have self-reported that they have been fully vaccinated,” Laurie Ward said. “We have 360 full time faculty, staff and contract employees.”

Currently the vaccine shots are approved by the CDC for emergency use only. Hood College will not require students to be vaccinated until the vaccine is approved outside of emergency use, Ward said.

Vaccine distribution has opened up and now includes group 2B, Marylanders ages 16 and above with underlying medical conditions. Other members of this group include food production workers and members of the clergy.

Group 2C, which includes essential workers, will become eligible for vaccination on April 13.

Maryland will have the last of the groups eligible by April 27, which will cut things close for students who will be travelling during the summer break.

Most vaccinations require two separate appointments that need to be scheduled in the same clinic.  

“The problem is the timing,” Ward said.

Students should reach out to wellness@hood.edu if they have any questions about the vaccine, Ward said.

Those who wish to sign up for vaccination can do so through the Frederick County Health Department or can contact their health care provider.

Hood College has no plans to require disclosure of vaccination status. Those that voluntarily share their status will be exempt from quarantine procedures if they are exposed in the future.

While the CDC has relaxed restrictions in public schools, it has not provided new guidance specific to colleges. There is no decision at this time about Hood relaxing its restrictions.

Hood College’s meetings regarding COVID-19 have begun to focus on end of year activities. Discussions this week were focused on graduation commencement and banquet plans.

Commencement will be held on the Thomas Athletic Field and will require student to RSVP to attend, with each attendee getting only two guest tickets. The number of ceremonies will be dependent on the responses.

“We sent out a message to both graduating classes for them to fill out an RSVP survey,” Ward said.

Hood College may have three or four ceremonies in one day to keep with social distancing guidelines.

The end of year banquets will not have the traditional foods offered, nor will guests be permitted.

After a small outbreak with eight positive results during athletic testing earlier this, the college went into lockdown and a massive round of testing took place.

“We tested 500 and only had one positive,” Ward said. “That shows what we are doing is working.”

In keeping with the already established pattern, Hood College is currently showing a seven-day positivity rate of 0.3%, compared to Frederick County’s 5.8%.

For more information on COVID-19 at Hood College check the college’s COVID Dashboard, found by clicking on “Welcome Home, Blazers!” on the Hood College homepage. Specific questions can be directed to wellness@hood.edu.