Thread by @rcallimachi

1. More than 400 universities in America have instituted vaccine mandates. But the rules were devised with domestic students in mind who have access to the three vaccines available in the US. What about international students who can't get those vaccines?nytimes.com/2021/06/03/us/…

2. In the US, students are considered vaccinated if they received the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Most universities are telling international students they will accept those three plus any others vetted by the WHO. That leaves out students like Milloni Doshi:

3. Milloni is from Mumbai and is due to start her masters at Columbia this fall. She's been vaccinated with Covaxin, which is not WHO approved. Columbia and many other colleges in the US are telling students like her that they will need to be revaccinated once they come on campus

4. The idea that a student would need to be revaccinated with Vaccine B after having already gotten Vaccine A has created a logistical and a medical conundrum. In an email to me, the CDC said there is no data available on whether it is safe to combine different vaccines:

5. The CDC is recommending a waiting period of at least 28 days between vaccines from different companies. Colleges across the country told me that they plan to accommodate foreign students as they are revaccinated. Some will need to isolate in dorm rooms attending class via zoom

6. Most affected are students in India, which sends some 200,000 students to the US every yea, and those in Russia. That's because the Covaxin vaccine available in India and the Sputnik vaccine made in Russia are not among those vetted by the WHO: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

7. Indian students are also struggling because of the acute vaccine shortage. @sudhikaushik dropped out of his MBA last year to run @NAAISORG which is trying to help. He told me students headed to the US are so desperate to get vaccines they've resorted to the black market:

8. In the last week alone, six regional governments in India have announced vaccine clinics specifically to vaccinate students heading to US colleges, after pressure from groups like @naaisorg

9. Even students who have succeeded in getting a WHO-vetted vaccine face uncertainty. I spoke to another Columbia student Gadha Raj who made a two-day trip to a clinic to get Covishield, approved by Columbia. But the second dose can't be administered for 84 days:

10. That's right when she needs to leave for New York for her studies so she's unsure if she'll succeed in getting the second dose of the approved vaccine. If she fails to get it will she be considered unvaccinated & need to begin a new vaccine cycle once she arrives at Columbia?

11. The uncertainty and stress caused by that wait time has prompted @priyankac19, a member of India's parliament to write to the government requesting a shortening of the wait period between the first and second dose in order to accommodate students heading to American campuses: