As the Fall semester gets under way, the challenge posed by the COVID-19 Delta variant remains. Called to action, Dallas College has announced two initiatives to halt the disease’s spread as the school year begins: free vaccines for the community and financial incentives for students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.
On Monday morning, Aug. 30, Dallas College will begin opening free vaccine clinics at each of its seven campuses, beginning at Brookhaven and Mountain View and rotating to other campuses throughout the week. The College will also make COVID-19 testing available on select campuses soon.
The clinics and testing sites are free and open to the public and all eligible students, faculty and staff at scheduled times and locations. [insert precise link]
As part of the voluntary, two-pronged effort to increase vaccination rates among campus populations and the community, Dallas College is also starting a vaccine incentive program for eligible students to collect up to $200 for being fully vaccinated – $100 per shot of the two-shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and $200 for the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Students who are already vaccinated can present a valid COVID-19 vaccination card to receive the funds. Students who are not vaccinated would become eligible upon receiving the vaccine between Aug. 30 and Nov. 15.
The program also covers all Dallas College employees, who each can receive a $500 incentive for full vaccination status. As with students, employees already vaccinated are eligible with proof of vaccination. Unvaccinated employees have the same timeframe as students to become vaccinated and eligible for the incentive.
While Dallas College steadfastly supports preventative measures such as mask wearing and social distancing, COVID-19 vaccinations have been proven to be the single-most effective means to help reduce virus transmission and minimize the serious effects associated with breakthrough cases.
“We strongly believe that the more people we have vaccinated, the quicker we can emerge from the shadow of COVID-19,” said Dallas College Chancellor Joe May. “Broadening vaccine incentives to our students, who can get vaccinated on campus during the normal course of their day and quickly collect their incentives, will help make our campus environments safer for the in-person learning that was made practically impossible early in the pandemic.”
