The University has announced that both the state of Pennsylvania and the more local Delaware County have declared Villanova a COVID-19 vaccination site, meaning that the University will be able to receive and administer vaccines once the college campus community is qualified to receive them.

Rev. John P. Stack, Vice President for Student Life, sent out an email on Dec. 22, alerting the community of the news. 

“Villanova has been identified by the county and state as a vaccination site, which means Villanova will receive vaccines when they become available for our population,” Stack wrote. “It is too soon to know a timetable for when vaccines will be available for our campus community.”

University administrators have posted this single paragraph on different platforms alerting Villanovans of the news. Platforms with the news include the Student Health Center website and the Student Life website.

As of now, University administrators do not know any further details. When pressed for more information, Mary E. McGonigle, Director of the Villanova University Health Center, wrote about the uncertainty of the situation.

“We are in constant contact with local and state health departments about the distribution of vaccines for our community,” McGonigle said. “Unfortunately, Villanova has not been given a timeline as to when we might receive vaccines, or how many vaccines we will get.”

Associate Vice President for Student Life at Villanova, Kathleen Brynes, added similar information.

“We are in constant contact with the Chester County Department of Health, the Delaware County Medical Countermeasures program, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health regarding the distribution of vaccines to our region,” Brynes said.

While the vaccine remains unavailable for many members of the Villanovan community, some Villanova students may be eligible to receive the vaccine off-campus. As the federal government continues to distribute the vaccine to states, state governments determine the manner of distribution.

Kylie Barton, a sophomore nursing student from Montgomery County, PA, received the COVID-19 vaccine prior to coming to campus. 

“My mom is a healthcare worker, and she found out that as a student nurse, I was also eligible to receive the vaccine in the 1A distribution stage in my county,” Barton said. “All I had to do was inform the vaccination site of some basic information including the name of my position and place of employment. Since I’m a student, I listed the Villanova School of Nursing as my place of employment and received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a phased allocation of vaccines for COVID-19. This is recommended for states to use but is not required.

According to the Delaware County, Pennsylvania official website, phase 1A of the vaccination rollout is still in place. The start date for phase 1B will depend on the number of vaccines that the federal government sends.