More SU employees will become eligible for COVID-19 vaccine on March 17

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A new expansion of New York state’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility requirements will allow more Syracuse University faculty and staff to receive the shot.  

The latest expansion of the guidelines — which Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference Tuesday — will encompass all people 60 years old or older starting March 10.  

Some additional essential workers not previously included in the rollout, among them sanitation and building service workers, will be able to register for a vaccine starting March 17.

In a campus-wide email, Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie, the head of SU’s COVID-19 response, said the university’s government relations and public health teams are working to clarify exactly which employees will be eligible under the new guidelines. 

“As soon as we receive detailed guidance from New York State, we will immediately communicate that information to the campus community,” Haynie said. 

According to the state’s new guidelines, public-facing government and public employees; nonprofit workers who provide public-facing services; and essential in-person public-facing building service workers will all become eligible on March 17. The precise boundaries of that definition remains unclear. 

Previously, SU employees and union representatives have expressed frustration that some at-risk workers, such as custodians and maintenance personnel, were unable to receive the vaccine, despite being in frontline jobs. SEIU Local 200United, a union that represents SU employees, lobbied the state to expand vaccine eligibility to include those workers. 

“We are hopeful this expansion will allow more of our staff, especially those who have been on the front lines from day one, to qualify for the COVID vaccination,” Haynie said.