March 26, 2021

To the Dartmouth community,

We were pleased to hear yesterday that the state of New Hampshire will open up COVID-19 vaccination appointments to all state residents 16 and older on April 2. Coupled with Vermont's recent announcement about opening up its appointments, this is good news about the progress of vaccine deployment.

We know that many people have questions about how and when they will actually be able to get an appointment for the vaccine. At this time, our partnership with the state, which is allowing us to provide access to vaccinations for New Hampshire employees meeting current eligibility criteria, covers only phases 2a and 2b of the New Hampshire vaccination schedule. We are exploring whether this partnership can be extended to permit Dartmouth to help schedule appointments for the next phase, announced by the governor yesterday. This decision will be made by the state. We continue to explore all avenues we can to help our community get vaccinated. In the meantime, faculty, staff, and students who have not been vaccinated and have not scheduled an appointment through the current Dartmouth-New Hampshire partnership should pursue any other options available to them to obtain a vaccine.

Please remember that you are not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after your final dose. Currently, the majority of our community members are not vaccinated, and it is critical that we all continue to follow health protocols, including wearing an appropriate face covering, maintaining 6 feet of physical distance from others, and avoiding large groups. These health guidelines are essential in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Sincerely,

Lisa V. Adams
Josh Keniston
Dartmouth COVID-19 Task Force Co-chairs