BY JOHN CARTER JR
Fort Hays State University announced on Friday they will be offering a $400 voluntary vaccine incentive program to faculty, staff and students for all who complete a full COVID-19 sequence.
“We are committed to a full reopening of campus this fall, while at the same time, we know we must plan for a COVID-19 threat that continues to evolve,” FHSU Chief Communications Officer Scott Cason said in the campus-wide email update.
All FHSU on-campus students, FHSU online students who live in Ellis County or a county adjacent, FHSU employees – including student employees – and students enrolled in the Gateway program at North Central Kansas Technical College are eligible for the program.
Those who are already completely vaccinated who wish to participate in the new program will need to deliver an original copy of their complete vaccination card to FHSU Human Resources no later than October 8. Then Human Resources will be able to verify individual vaccinations and confirm if any other documentation is required.
The campus email also said that due to the special rules relating to employee wellness programs, the university is asking employees who have not received the full vaccination sequence and want to receive the payment to get the vaccine from a provider other than Health and Wellness Services – formerly the Student Health Center.
There are three upcoming on-campus clinics for vaccination. These events scheduled over the next two weeks only include the first shot.
- August 17, 12-4 p.m. at Victor E. Village
- August 19, 5-7 p.m. at McMindes Hall
- August 23, 2-6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom
“Employees will have the opportunity to receive the vaccine on-site from our Ellis County Health Department (ECHD) clinic partner,” the email update said. “Vaccines are also widely available in the community via the ECHD, local pharmacies, and other providers.”
Other vaccine providers can be found at https://www.vaccines.gov/.
According to Cason, there are plans for more vaccine clinics following the first dose in late September.
“Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as possible, but we also recognize this is a personal medical decision,” he said in the email update.
Cason also told TMN they are doing the incentive program in order to help people get vaccinated and that guidance from both the CDC and Ellis County Health Department told the university that vaccination is the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The email update said that employees who want to participate in this incentive program who have not yet received their first Pfizer or Moderna vaccination should plan to complete the first vaccination no later than September 7.