Bemidji State University’s Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sand, has been on the front lines of the university’s COVID-19 response since the very beginning.

A member of Bemidji State’s COVID-19 contact tracing trio with Carol Hess in Human Resources and emergency manager Erin Morrill, Sand has worked tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of everyone on campus. He is now glad to be vaccinated against the virus.

“As a father of two young children, and with two older parents that live near me, I wanted to remain healthy and also reduce the risk of transferring any virus to them,” he said. “In my role, I am constantly exposed to many people and I do not want to transmit that risk to my family.”

Throughout the pandemic, Sand has been working directly with BSU’s students managing contact tracing activities and quarantining exposed students. He has also consulted on contact tracing with local and state-level workgroups.

Motivated by his need to give sound medical advice to the university’s athletes, Sand researched the virus and its impact on not only the human body but the community as well.

“Having done the research into the vaccine and the virus, I think it is the correct thing to get vaccinated for the health of our population as a whole,” he said. “It was one of the most pain-free injections that I have ever had. I did have shoulder pain at the injection site for both shots similar to what I get for other vaccinations that I have received. The only other side effect I had was fatigue the day after the second shot.”

On April 29, Sand, Hess and Morrill received the Outstanding Contribution Award at Bemidji State’s employee recognition event for their efforts to combat COVID-19 on campus.

2021-B-171