Columbia will offer COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible community affiliates later this month, according to an email from Senior Executive Vice President Gerald Rosberg and Senior Vice President and University COVID Director Donna Lynne.

After several weeks of anticipation, Columbia will begin to distribute COVID-19 vaccines on campus later this month, according to an email from the Senior Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President earlier this evening. According to the email, eligible students, faculty, and staff will be able to “get vaccinated with no out-of-pocket costs at one of four Columbia operated Manhattan locations.” The full text of the email is provided at the end of this article. 

Vaccines will now be distributed at four Columbia-affiliated sites: 630 W 168^th Street, 2702 Broadway, Lerner Hall, and 51 W 51 Street. Rosberg and Lynne added that appointment scheduling capabilities will be made available “in the coming week,” as well as the daily hours of operation for the four sites. Until then, eligible students, faculty, and staff are still able to schedule appointments at the Armory on 168th Street.

Rosberg and Lynne also clarified that students who live on campus who meet other eligibility criteria are indeed eligible for the vaccine, regardless of their legal states, countries, or territories of residence. Faculty and staff who do not legally reside in New York State and do not interact with medical patients, however, must get the vaccine in their home states. 

Members of the Columbia community can check their eligibility status using this link. Eligible people can schedule an appointment at currently open vaccination sites here.

Email from Gerry Rosberg and Donna Lynne sent to Columbia affiliates at 6:07 pm on March 10:

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to inform you of several recent significant changes with respect to vaccine availability.

1. Columbia locations for the vaccine. Later this month, Columbia faculty, staff and students, who are eligible based on New York State criteria, will be able to get vaccinated at no out-of-pocket cost at one of four Columbia operated Manhattan locations.   Additional locations will be opening up later this spring.  The following locations will be opening later this month.

• 630 W 168^th Street
• 2702 Broadway
• 2920 Broadway (Lerner Hall)
• 51 W 51 Street

Appointment scheduling will be announced in the coming week, and we are also planning additional outreach to eligible faculty, staff, and students.  Days and hours of operation will also be announced next week.  In the meantime, schedule your appointment at the Armory on 168^th Street by going to VaccineTogetherNY.org or by scheduling at any city site.

2. Expansion of eligible groups. This week there have been significant expansions in the definition of eligible groups.  These include persons age 60 and over and certain public-facing staff.  Faculty, staff and students should check their eligibility by going to https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/

3. Expansion of place of residence. The place of residence that is used as a criteria for administration of the vaccine has been changed to allow any location in New York State to vaccinate any eligible resident of New York State.  Previously, most locations in New York City could only vaccinate residents of New York City.  Students who meet other criteria in #2 who are temporary NYS residents due to attending school will be able to get the vaccine. However, faculty and staff who are residents of other states must get the vaccine in their states, unless they are in category 1a (patient facing).

We will continue to update you as we move ahead in the coming weeks.  Please check the Columbia University COVID-19 website, covid19.columbia.edu for updates.

Gerry Rosberg,

Senior Executive Vice President

Donna Lynne

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, CUIMC

University COVID Director

Vaccine Vials via Bwog Archives