Media releases

• University to begin offering vaccine to Brock students

  Thursday, June 17, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 17 June 2021 – R0074

  As public health officials look to increase the vaccination rates among young adults in Niagara, Brock University will be offering the Moderna vaccine to undergraduate and graduate students starting Friday, June 25.

  The University is working to ensure students have access to both first and second doses of the Moderna vaccine as part of its campus-wide fall preparations.

  All Brock students are eligible to receive the vaccine, which will be administered by staff of the University’s Student Health Services clinic in Harrison Hall. Students do not need to live in the Niagara region to access the clinic, but must be enrolled Brock students (including part-time students and those starting in September). Students living outside of Niagara are encouraged to get vaccinated in their home region prior to the school year beginning.

  Students who want to get vaccinated at Brock can register on the Student Wellness and Accessibility website. After registering, students will be contacted with more information on when they should come to the University to receive their vaccine.

  Brock University Provost and Vice-President, Academic Lynn Wells said the plan for a return to on-campus instruction and activity requires a high rate of vaccination among all community members.

  “As we work toward the gradual resumption of on-campus classes, research, athletics and other extracurricular activities, we are relying on vaccinations to increase throughout the summer months,” Wells said. “Each of us can do our part to help end the pandemic by getting vaccinated as soon as possible.”

  “We’re all in this together, both as a university and as a community,” she said. “Being able to offer all Brock students direct access to the vaccine through this on-campus clinic is a very important step in the right direction.”

  Following provincial guidelines, the Brock clinic will be administering first doses of the Moderna vaccine to all students who would like to receive it, as well as second doses for those eligible. For information receiving the Moderna vaccine as a second dose, please visit the Province of Ontario’s vaccine website here.

  “Throughout this pandemic, persons in their 20s and 30s — the post-secondary student-aged population — have been the highest risk of being infected by COVID-19, and as older groups were vaccinated first, the virus has increasingly concentrated in younger people,” said Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Acting Niagara Region Medical Officer of Health. “Getting vaccinated before returning to class will help protect people in this age group, as well as their friends, family and loved ones.”

  Vaccine administration at Brock will begin clinics on Friday, June 25 and Monday, June 28. Additional clinics will be scheduled as required based on student demand.

  Students who receive their vaccine at Brock and are also still holding appointments at other community vaccination clinics are encouraged to cancel those additional appointments to free them up for other community members.

  “We are very pleased to be working closely with Niagara Region Public Health in order to ensure our students have timely access to vaccines in advance of their return to campus,” said Anna Lathrop, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students. “Depending upon student demand and vaccine supply, we also anticipate Student Health Services will be able to offer this service to students through the Fall and into the Winter Term.”

  Anyone with questions or concerns about whether the COVID-19 vaccine is right for them is encouraged to book an immunization counselling appointment by phoning 905-688-5550 x3243.

  To contact the Brock University COVID-19 nurse, email covid19nurse@brocku.ca

  In addition to being encouraged to get the vaccine as soon as possible, the Brock community is reminded to continue taking steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19 such as wearing a mask, physical distancing, proper hand hygiene and self-isolating when not feeling well.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Participants needed for study focused on social exclusion of immigrant women in Niagara

  Thursday, June 17, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 17 June 2021 – R0073

  Moving to a new country can be a daunting experience and, even years after settling in, feelings of isolation and exclusion may remain.

  A team of Brock researchers wants to hear more about the experiences of immigrant women in Niagara in order to help develop strategies that promote inclusion in the region.

  Led by Brock Associate Professor of Nursing Joanne Crawford, the study is being conducted in collaboration with Tools of Empowerment for Success (TOES) Niagara and the University’s Social Justice Research Institute (SJRI), and will focus on social exclusion experiences.

  Immigrant women in Niagara, as well as community service providers who work with immigrant communities, are invited to participate in the project, which will explore existing and potential programs and services that support social inclusion and the potential needs of immigrant women in the region.

  Through interviews and focus groups, immigrant women will be asked to share their experiences of feeling either excluded or included in social, cultural and political aspects of Canadian society. They will also be asked about programs or activities they feel would help to promote social inclusion.

  “Literature tells us exclusion is happening, but we want women to share their perspectives of inclusion and exclusion specific to Niagara,” Crawford says.

  There tends to be more support available for newcomers in the early years after their arrival in Canada, she says. However, there are women experiencing exclusion beyond those initial years.

  Community service providers will be asked to complete a brief survey online about their work experiences and services available through their organization that promote social inclusion for immigrant women and communities. At the end of the survey, participants have the option to consent to a more comprehensive follow-up interview.

  “We’re asking them to give their perspective on what they feel is happening with immigrant women communities in terms of feeling included or excluded and how their programs tailor to or have components that tailor to inclusion,” Crawford says.

  This is the second phase of the three-phase project, which began with a critical review last year. After collecting the data from community participants, a report will be compiled and disseminated locally during the third phase in hopes of seeing programming developed based on its findings.

  “We want to bring the information back to the community first — say, ‘Here’s what we found, we think it might be effective. What do you think and how can we work to develop this together?’” Crawford says. “It’s important to have community buy in. We have to go straight to the people and organizations who will be participating in and running these programs.

  “We want to develop and support programming that actually works in the real world,” she says.

  Crawford is hopeful that when the report is completed, the evidence will assist local organizations, such as TOES Niagara, in their efforts to obtain funding for additional programming.

  “Improving the inclusion of immigrant women will see society reap the benefits of economic contributions and civic engagement,” she says. “It is a win-win situation.”

  Community collaboration, including working with TOES Niagara and Executive Director Nyarayi Kapisavanhu, is critical to the project’s success, Crawford says.

  “It was Nyarayi who recognized there are issues in the community with immigrant women in Niagara who feel isolated and don’t feel included,” she says. “Nyarayi is on the front lines, so she has a good idea of what’s going to work and what isn’t, and how we can best reach out to women for their input.”

  Kapisavanhu says the project is important because it will “help to ensure more equitable access to and control of resources and benefits, and enhance participation in decision-making at group and community levels for immigrant women in Niagara.”

  “To this end, I encourage women and girls with lived experience to participate and engage in the process in order to influence pandemic recovery responses as well as program types, outcomes and activities that would best suit and serve them to remove barriers and obstacles that have led to social exclusion,” she says. “This is an example of ‘not for us without us’ at work.’”

  Both the SJRI and Crawford have been working for several years with TOES Niagara, which offers workshops, programs and other support services to remove barriers for immigrant and racially marginalized women and their families and help enable improved economic and educational outcomes.

  “We have a lot of collaboration going on, it’s been really rich, and it shows how working together really improves your ability to work on something that is going to make a change in the community,” Crawford says. “We each bring something different to the table and acknowledge and respect each other’s skills.”

  For more information or to participate in the study, contact Crawford at joanne.crawford@brocku.ca or call 905-688-5550 x4363.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases