NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University, in collaboration with the Metro Public Health Department, is offering residents 12 years old and up an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
The shots will be offered at TSU’s Avon Williams Campus near downtown from 9 a.m. to 12 noon CDT on June 15, with a second dose to be given on July 6. To register, visit www.signupgenious.com/go/TSU.
Dr. Wendolyn Inman is an infectious disease expert and professor and director of public health programs in the College of Health Sciences at TSU. She encourages people to take advantage of the opportunity to get a vaccination, particularly African Americans.
“African Americans have the lowest vaccination rate, therefore they have the greatest chance of getting COVID-19,” says Inman.
She adds that COVID-19 infections are highest in the age group 18 to 34, and that those individuals risk infecting others over age 65.
“So, if you are African American, not immunized, and between the ages of 18-34 years, you are more likely to transmit the disease to an African American over the age of 65 years,” says Inman. “Would you want to be the transmission for a loved one who dies? Get immunized!”
Junior Mark Davis, a mass communications major and Mister TSU, says he doesn’t want to put anyone’s life at risk which is why he has gotten vaccinated. He is urging his peers who haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine to do so.
“I have a two-year-old nephew and a grandmother,” says Davis, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio. “If I go around my grandmother, who is a breast cancer survivor, she may not survive COVID. You never know what other peoples’ health issues are.”
TSU will be fully operational in the fall, with continued safety measures. Officials say the decision to resume in-person classes is in line with the reduction in COVID-19 restrictions by the City of Nashville, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state health experts.
“We are excited about returning to a robust in-person collegiate experience,” said Frank Stevenson, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students. “But we know that students should be vaccinated for that to be fully appreciated. That’s why we’re creating easy access for all of our students to get vaccinated.”
To learn more about the university’s fall return plan, visit https://www.tnstate.edu/return/.
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About Tennessee State University
Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and eight doctoral degrees. TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee. With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.