The vaccination clinic at St. Thomas provided the Pfizer vaccine to over 2,700 individuals during the first three days of the clinic in April. The second clinic occurred on May 14, 15 and 17, and was open to the community. The university contracted with Hy-Vee pharmacy to distribute the vaccines to St. Thomas students, staff and faculty. Madonna McDermott, executive director of the Center for Well-Being, said that people are now able to gather with friends, family and colleagues with less fear of contracting or spreading a virus. "Mitigation measures such as wearing masks and social distancing indoors will need to continue for a while, but we are in a much better place due to more folks getting vaccinated," she said.
More than 7,400 faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students at St. Thomas have been at least partially vaccinated, according to data released from the state of Minnesota. That is approximately 62% of the St. Thomas community. The numbers do not reflect the most recent vaccine clinic.