University of the Pacific—one of the first universities in Northern California to offer mass vaccine distributions at it campuses—is now among the first universities in the nation to join the White House and the U.S. Department of Education in their COVID-19 College Vaccination Challenge.

Pacific and all participating universities will commit to taking three key actions to vaccinate their communities: engaging every student, faculty, and staff member; organizing their college communities; and delivering vaccine access for all.

"We are proud to join the White House and U.S. Department of Education to be a leader in protecting the health of our communities," said Pacific President Christopher Callahan. "Vaccinations are a critical component in our efforts to mitigate risk and protect one another’s health, which will support our ability to soon return to a vibrant campus with the full range of activities and services that are essential to our students’ success."

The COVID-19 College Vaccination Challenge supports President Joseph R. Biden's announced goal of administering at least one vaccine shot to at least 70% of adult Americans, and to get to 160 million Americans fully vaccinated by July 4.

All new and continuing Pacific students (undergraduate, graduate and professional) returning in person to instruction on any of the university's three campuses this summer and fall will be required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before coming to campus.

Pacific has been a leading partner in vaccine distribution and was recently selected by Blue Shield of California to be among the first universities in the state to administer the COVID-19 vaccine under a new provider network. Pacific has the capacity to fully vaccinate every student and employee on its three campuses.

"As the only Northern California private university with a school of health sciences, a dental school and pharmacy school, Pacific is uniquely positioned to help widen distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and work towards making our entire communities safer," said Maria Pallavicini, university provost and head of Pacific's COVID-19 council.

Pacific’s faculty and students have already administered more than 9,000 COVID-19 vaccines at clinics in Stockton and San Francisco.

Upcoming immunization events are scheduled for this weekend and will also be held in July on the Stockton Campus for all residents of San Joaquin County age 12 and older.

To learn more about Pacific's student vaccination requirement or the university’s response to COVID-19 visit Pacific’s COVID-19 website.