WESTFIELD- Westfield State University will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic June 29 as part of President Joseph R. Biden’s COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge.
The clinic will take place in University Hall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be run by Curative, the COVID-19 testing and vaccine company that has been conductng mobile vaccine clinics. Participants will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which requires a second dose on July 20 at the same time and place.
The clinic is available by appointment at curative.com/sites/29914/walkup .
The COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge is a nationwide effort started by Biden to get college students vaccinated at a higher rate. Westfield State is one of more than 600 colleges and universities participating in the program across the country.
“Throughout the pandemic, Westfield State University has held the health and safety of the campus community and our host city as its top priority,” said Interim President Dr. Roy H. Saigo, “Our ‘Protect the Nest’ program on campus has provided a steady influence toward that end. We are proud to join our fellow institutions and respond to the government’s call to action in support of one another and the greater good so that we, as a nation, can put the pandemic behind us.”
New England as a whole has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, and is one of the only full regions to have met or be close to meeting Biden’s goal of fully vaccinating 70 percent of the total population by July 4.
In Massachusetts, 67 percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose.
Hampden County, however, has the lowest vaccination rate in the state, with 54 percent of eligible residents being fully vaccinated. Westfield and Southwick’s vaccination rates are both lower than that of Hampden County as of June 24. Just 51 percent of Westfield residents have received at least one dose, while 45 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
In Southwick, 52 percent of residents have received at least one dose while 46 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
