Jan. 5, 2021- Chancellor's Update: Vaccines

Dear Colleagues,

I hope everyone had a restful break.

As you know, Arizona has received and begun distributing COVID-19 vaccines. The state also has created a prioritization protocol for vaccines as they become available.

Educational institutions, in the interest of reopening classrooms, are included in the “1B” designation in the state’s “Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine.” This includes Pima Community College employees.

In late December, Pima County issued additional information about vaccine distribution and prioritization. At the same time, the College organized a small committee to determine protocols for Pima based on available details from the county, which is managing much of the local distribution.

We believe it is in the best interest of the College and our community to move as quickly as possible so we are prepared to take advantage when our opportunity comes. We pledge to keep you informed as we receive details from the county and state.

Our facilities leadership team has communicated directly with the county since the beginning of the pandemic, and is the College’s official point of contact on all matters related to COVID-19.

It is important to note that 1B is a very broad category that includes K-12, higher education, child care facilities, people over age 75, first responders, adults in congregate settings, power and utility workers, numerous critical trades, and many others.

To date, only 65,000 doses of the two-dose vaccine have been allocated to Pima County; 45,000 doses have been received; and 20,335 have been administered.  We understand that additional doses will be delivered by the federal government to CVS, Walgreens and long-term care facilities.  Until additional doses become available, the county will have to continue prioritizing access and for now is still focused on making vaccines available for everyone in the 1A group.

The College’s goal is to have all employees receive access to the vaccine. However, given current distribution numbers, we plan to prioritize those employees who already are required to be on campus, including technical faculty, facilities team members, staff managing check-ins, and PCC Police. We will expand the priority list based on our efforts to bring more classes and services back to campus.  We are also following OSHA guidance to prioritize based on who on our campuses is at greatest risk for exposure and to more severe illness from exposure.

There is much we don’t know yet, of course, such as whether the College will be allocated doses of the vaccine or whether vaccinations will be offered on Campus. We also do not know how distribution through private pharmacies will work yet, which may open additional opportunities for employees to be vaccinated.

Currently, students are not included in a vaccination plan, but we would hope to make access easy as more vaccines become available.

Employees will not have to pay for a vaccine. Any costs associated with the vaccine will be covered by the College.

Questions may be directed to the Facilities Help Desk by emailing maintinfo@pima.edu or calling (520) 206-2733.

I look forward to sharing more information as we can. In the meantime, we look forward to the start of a new semester.

 

Lee D. Lambert

Chancellor