On Friday, Feb. 12, the COVID Pod team sits down with Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health, to discuss the variations underlying the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to stop its spread: virus variants, new vaccines in development — and even a COVID-19-conscious approach to socializing on Valentine’s Day.

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout ramps up in the United States, more and more cases of adverse reactions to the injection are being reported. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, 484 vaccine-related incidents have been reported in Florida

As COVID-19 vaccines become increasingly available, the student-led organization Brown Boosts Immunity aims to counter vaccine hesitancy in Rhode Island through education, community partnerships and a “humanizing” approach, co-founder Rebka Ephrem ’21 said.

In December, more than 40 interest groups and businesses — representing groups ranging from school bus drivers to librarians — wrote letters to the Rhode Island Department of Health regarding COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

The University will likely begin to vaccinate students over the summer, President Christina Paxson P’19 said at the first faculty meeting of the spring semester Tuesday. 

The COVID Pod is back in 2021 with more insight from Dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University Ashish Jha. On this episode, The COVID Pod team takes a look at vaccine administration — what has been done so far and where it is going to go in the next few months.

For all the dark days of this pandemic — and there are still more to come — there is now an unmistakable light ahead. Vaccines are moving: not as fast as hoped, but moving.

The broader undergraduate population could receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as early as the end of this semester, supplies permitting, Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Executive Director of Health and Wellness Vanessa Britto MMSc’96 speculates.

With limited supply of vaccines in Rhode Island, state officials have backed a three-phased prioritization plan to determine who receives doses first, with a focus on equity and minimizing hospitalizations.

The new Rhode Island House of Representatives Task Force for COVID-19 Vaccine discussed vaccine distribution and prioritization in the state and the challenges that lay ahead during its first meeting Wednesday.