UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With University Health Services (UHS) administering the Moderna bivalent COVID-19 booster, Penn State encourages students to stay up to date on their shots and receive the booster if they are eligible.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are formulated to protect against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus — the virus that causes COVID-19 — as well as the newer omicron variant.
Students can sign up for an appointment to receive the Moderna COVID-19 booster via myUHS. These appointments will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays in the Student Health Center at University Park.
The booster is available to anyone 18 years of age and older who received their last COVID-19 vaccine at least two months ago. Those who recently had COVID-19 may consider waiting to receive the booster for three months.
“Getting a booster vaccine adds protection against COVID-19, especially protecting against more severe illness,” said Rebecca Simcik, the UHS medical director. “COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, but we can all live with it more safely if we stay up to date on vaccines, including boosters.”
She added that none of the COVID-19 vaccines affect DNA or contain substances such as food proteins, preservatives, metals or latex.
Appointments also are available for students to receive the first or second dose of the vaccine from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Student Health Center.
Prior to the appointment, students should make sure their health insurance card is uploaded to their myUHS account. Students also are asked to bring their Penn State ID with them to their appointment.
Students at University Park, Commonwealth Campuses and Dickinson Law can upload their vaccination records through myUHS. Students can visit the University Health Services immunization webpage for more information on how to upload. Faculty and staff can upload an image of their COVID-19 vaccination card into Penn State’s Salesforce Health Cloud, a secure online platform for collecting and storing health data.
Additional vaccine resources can be found on the UHS COVID-19 vaccinations website.
University Health Services, a unit of Student Affairs, is an all-inclusive, on-campus health care service offering medical, pharmacy, physical therapy, lab, imaging, reproductive health, radiology, medical records, and emergency services. It also has an allergy injection clinic, which has recently reopened. UHS is contacting students to schedule allergy injection appointments as paperwork is received and reviewed.