Purdue’s vaccination clinic expanded eligibility on Wednesday to include spouses and dependents of faculty and Purdue retirees. The clinic has also started accepting walk-up appointments.
The clinic was previously open to students, faculty, and staff with a priority set on students.
Since the clinic opened last week officials say it has vaccinated roughly 15,000 people.
At the opening of the clinic Willie Reed, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine said the goal was to vaccinate 25,000 in the first week. But he said they are still happy with the turnout.
“We’re finding that a lot of individuals, particularly students, have gone to other sites around the county for the vaccine as soon as they became eligible,” he said. “Which we encouraged individuals when they became eligible to get the vaccine as soon as they could.”
Reed said by opening the clinic up to more individuals, they believe they can utilize all the doses they’ve been given.
“We don’t think we’ll have any problem administering all of the doses that the state has given us,” he said.
Purdue is in the process of surveying students, faculty, and staff to see how many have received a vaccine and is asking members of the campus community to upload verification to a university website once they’ve been fully vaccinated. A March survey of faculty, staff, and students found that 80% of respondents either had or planned to receive a vaccination.
Nationwide, some universities have announced they will require students to be vaccinated before returning to school in the fall.
Reed said Purdue is considering whether a vaccine is something it will require.
“It’s something that Purdue has discussed and we’ll certainly consider it,” he said. “But no decision has been made at this point.”