COVID-19 has been terrorizing our nation for nearly two years but finally there is a vaccine that is supposed to stop it. 

Many have concerns with the vaccine and shy away from it. Tarleton’s Student Affairs is now offering a Vaccine Incentive in order to get our students to want to be vaccinated! 

“The Tarleton State University Student Health Center continues to offer vaccinations for COVID-19. Vaccination against this terrible disease continues to be our best line of defense in combating the harmful spread of COVID-19 and its complications.” Vice President of Student affairs, Dr. Kelli Styron said.

Now there is more than just a set of shots that can help you stop the spread of COVID 19. There are many ways to take care of yourself and those around you. Tarleton State University cares for their students and you should care too. Vaccine or not only you can make a difference. 

“We want students to continue healthy habits of handwashing, daily temperature checks, monitoring for symptoms, and staying away from classes and events if fever or other symptoms are present. If a student believes they may have COVID-19, testing is available on campus.” Vice President of Student affairs, Dr. Kelli Styron said.

“We hope to be able to slow the spread among our university population with the continuation of isolating students with a positive test result after they complete the required reporting form. It is vitally important that we all work together to end this disease so that we can decrease the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths and move beyond the dangerous consequences of COVID-19.” 

In no way is the university taking a side on vaccinations or to not vaccinate but they do care about stopping the spread of COVID-19. Even Dr. James Hurley says he is indifferent if we choose to get vaccinated. While he is vaccinated, his son who is college aged is not. Many have opinions about the topic but you cannot dismiss that the 100 dollars added to your Texan Bill pay is very nice. 

“In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Tarleton is offering an incentive program for current students who are fully vaccinated. Funding for this program comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). Once students are fully vaccinated and share proof of their vaccine with the university, they will receive a $100 credit to their Texan Bill Pay account and be entered in a drawing for prizes.” Tarleton State University states.

One thing to note before applying to the program is that you must be fully vaccinated. That means if you are doing a two shot set then both shots must have been administered prior to the drawing of the prizes or giving of the $100. This includes either a single shot of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, both of the Pfizer shots or both shots for the Moderna vaccine. 

While many of the prizes have been claimed there are still drawings going on. 

One reserved parking spot for the remainder of the fall semester (drawing held Oct. 13, placement of their choosing), one reserved parking spot for the spring 2022 semester (drawing held prior to the end of the fall 2021 semester, placement of their choosing), Campus Recreation zip-line trip to Austin (drawing held Oct. 1) and a personal training package with Campus Recreation (drawing held Oct. 22).

“On August 23, 2021, the FDA approved the Pfizer–BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine. National regulatory authorities have granted emergency use authorizations for 21 COVID-19 vaccines. Five of those have been approved for emergency or full use by at least one WHO-recognized stringent regulatory authority (Oxford–AstraZeneca, Sinopharm-BIBP, Moderna, Sinovac and Janssen)” Tarleton Roadmap states.

But this incentive program did not just show up for not just coming out of thin air. 

“In order to receive the third installment of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds from the US Department of Education, the university is required to use a portion of the funds to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campus. This incentive program allows us to meet this requirement and benefit our students.” Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Lori Beaty said.

The money for this incentive program is being sourced from  ”the U.S. Department of Education Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and the items that are being given away were either donated or provided from a department within Tarleton, “ Beaty said.

The Student health Center will continue to provide vaccines on a regular basis. Many of these times are available for appointments and walk-ins. There are also other vaccination sites that you may go to in the Stephenville area and all this information can be found online on the Tarleton roadmap. 

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine incentives you can call 254-968-9069 or you can email either [email protected] or [email protected].