Vice President Kamala Harris and other top officials paid a visit to Clark Atlanta University (CAU) and the Atlanta University Center today as part of the Department of Health and Human Services “We Can Do This Bus Tour” and to issue the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge.
Harris acknowledged Clark Atlanta’s president George T. French Jr., the presidents of other Atlanta University Center colleges, AUC students, and other special guests during the tour stop at CAU. The Vice President issued the challenge as part of the national tour to promote vaccinations in Southern states and to reach President Biden’s set goal of getting 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4.
The COVID-19 challenge encourages colleges and universities to commit to taking three key actions to help their campus communities to get vaccinated: engaging all students, faculty, and staff members; organizing their college communities; and delivering vaccine access for everyone. Click here to see The Challenge: 3 Key Commitments from the White House.
“It is an absolute honor to meet and welcome Vice President Kamala Harris to our beautiful campus during the “We Can Do This Bus Tour” and to accept the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge. It is paramount that we support this national campaign to encourage young people and all people to get vaccinated,” said CAU President George T. French Jr.
Clark Atlanta University and our fellow institutions within the Atlanta University Center move in tangent with one another relative to decisions made about the well-being of our students. During the COVID-19 crises, we have followed the data from the Centers for Disease Control, state, county, and local health officials. Here at Clark Atlanta University, we have established COVID-19 testing sites and have made the vaccine readily available for all of our students, faculty, and staff.”
According to the White House, the challenge expects to build on the program announced by President Biden on May 11th that matches certain high-enrollment community colleges with partners in the federal pharmacy program to provide vaccination opportunities to students and their communities.
Additionally, as part of the challenge, the Administration will provide resources like training sessions, toolkits, and educational material to assist colleges and universities in vaccination efforts; facilitate on-site vaccinations at schools; and launch a student corps within the COVID-19 Community Corps to recognize and activate students across the country who are taking extraordinary efforts to draw young people out to get vaccinated and engage the youth community.
According to the White House, many states in the South are lagging behind the set goal. The tour kicked off earlier this month, and is a government effort to educate the public about COVID-19 vaccinations and to encourage those eligible to get the vaccination. Vice President Harris’ overall role is to learn more about Clark Atlanta University’s COVID-19 efforts.
