On Sunday July 25, Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) began offering the COVID-19 vaccination to current students. Students who wish to be vaccinated reserved their time slot in advance and received their first shots at Showa Women’s University gymnasium where covid control measures were carefully carried out. Receiving the new covid vaccination was voluntary.
We asked the students who received the vaccine at the first TUJ vaccination about their background and the vaccination process. Here is what the students had to say about the vaccination process “I got the vaccination because I wanted to be safer and feel more normal,” said a senior students. “I wanted to do my part to end this situation as soon as possible because we will not be able to get out of this pandemic unless many people are vaccinated,” said another senior students. These students also commented on how easy the vaccination process was: “It was very smooth, and the staff was kind enough to explain and help us.” And “It was done really quickly, with support in Japanese and English.”
One of the students mentioned that he had been waiting for the vaccination because of his asthma condition and felt far more comfortable having it done at the university with English-speaking support. “This vaccination was very important for me because I am at a higher risk of covid infection than others because of my health condition,” the student said. “I live in Minato Ward and have received a vaccination ticket with English information. But when I looked online, the information was very limited, so I felt that I should receive the vaccination at the university where English support is available. I had my own internship coming up before graduation, so if the vaccination was not offered at the university at this time, I was thinking of returning to my home country this fall for the vaccination.”
TUJ staff as well as Showa Women’s University staff participated in the vaccination program to ensure that the all-day vaccination went smoothly. Appointments for the second round of vaccinations for students will be held in August.