Graphic courtesy of Anjali Rao-Herel ‘21.
By Cynthia Akanaga ’25
Staff Writer
In combating the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount Holyoke College has “committed to achieving as close to universal vaccination as possible within our community.” Hence, all students and employees are required to be vaccinated unless otherwise exempted. As of Oct. 11, 2021, 99.3 percent of students who live or attend classes on Mount Holyoke College’s campus are fully vaccinated. 98.3 percent of college employees are fully vaccinated, and 0.3 percent are in the process of getting vaccinated. Some international students who are in the process of getting fully vaccinated have expressed some complaints regarding the College’s distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination on campus.
On Sept. 18, 2021, Charlotte Mao ’23 received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Mount Holyoke. While receiving the first dose, she said that she was informed that Mount Holyoke no longer provided the second dose. According to an email sent by Health Services, the College did provide “two vaccine clinics on campus, administering the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 28 and Sept. 18.” However, Mao said that “many international students arrived after Aug. 28, so the first one wasn’t an option for [them].” Mao explained she “[felt] quite inconvenienced because [she didn’t] have a driver’s license so [she had] to take an Uber or ask someone to drive [her] there.”
Zoe Chao ’23 had other complications. Although she “felt lucky enough to receive [her] first dose [at] Mount Holyoke,” Chao also acknowledged that getting the second dose presented logistical issues for her. She suggested, though, that getting the second dose was “a risk [she was] willing to take.”
Before getting to Mount Holyoke and receiving the Pfizer vaccine, Chao received the Sinopharm vaccine back in China. However, she did not think the Sinopharm was “as [effective] as the one in America.” Initially worried about obtaining the vaccine in America, Chao was grateful that the College was able to provide the first dose.
Despite this, Chao mentioned that she didn’t receive much information when getting her second dose. Chao said, “They should have told us more information about the side effects of the vaccine, but they are acting like we should already know the information earlier or maybe we can handle the side effects, so they just don’t tell us anything.” Chao disclosed that she “was scared” when she developed “a fever for a day” after her first dose and expressed that she “would have been much calmer and prepared” if she had been informed about the side effects.
Mao shared the same sentiment regarding the lack of information about the side effects of the vaccine. Mao had a more severe experience than she expected with the effects of the first dose, which led to her “[absence] for [her] Monday class.” Mao said, “I’m left-handed. They didn’t inform us that our arm would be sore, so they didn’t even ask me if I’m left or right-handed. They just administered the vaccine. I couldn’t do a lot of things in the following three days.”
As for getting the second dose, Mao offered a suggestion that would have helped her in making the process much smoother. “Maybe [the College] could have set up a van or rented a bus,” Mao said.
Despite the difficulties, Chao explained how the international students formed “a group of other international students who also needed the second dose. [They] worked together and found another friend who was willing to drive [them] there.” She said, “That’s how I got my second dose.”