Bingo. They skew young. So 58% is super good, IMO.
Last night I checked UChicagoâs rules for those who canât get a WHO- or FDA-approved vaccine before arriving on campus. Those under this category will be doing weekly testing and possibly other measures until fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine. Masks were not specifically mentioned although theyâd fall under those additional mitigations. Employees who werenât fully vaccinated would need to do weekly testing and masks until fully vaccinated.
Interestingly, they have also introduced temporary exemptions due to EUA status as well as recent Covid infection (90 days). The latter is per UC Medâs current recommendation for vaccination timing after infection. All students with an approved exemption must comply with the other mitigation procedures (weekly testing at minimum).
Read about the exemptions here (#9): COVID-19 FAQs | University of Chicago
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We received the following notification today. D19 and D21 will be at W&M in the fall. I am so concerned that they will not be able to have a normal year if these are the true vaccination numbers. I hope itâs just that people have not reported their vaccinations. I will be letting the school know that we think vaccines should be mandatory for students and staff. However, there is not enough time remaining before the start of fall semester for any more people in the community to get fully vaccinated.
Dear William & Mary Community,
William & Maryâs first reporting deadline for vaccination status passed on July 15. The current vaccination rates are well below where we expected them to be based on prior surveys and where we need them to be:
- Students verified fully vaccinated: 5,480 (56.2%)
- Employees verified fully vaccinated: 2,118 (72.2%)
We will return to primarily in-person campus operations, yet our plans for âmore regularâ operations have been predicated on having a highly vaccinated campus community. Right now, our reported numbers fall well below a level that would allow William & Mary responsibly to continue planning as we were. Unless William & Mary sees a significant increase in reported vaccinations, the university will need to adopt or reimpose additional COVID-19 mitigation measures. These could include limitations on social gatherings, sporting events and other public activities; reinstating universal masking requirements regardless of vaccination status; and/or mandatory vaccinations before the start of the fall semester.
William & Mary asks two things of you today:
If you are vaccinated or have started the vaccination process, report it to W&M by 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, July 28. Visit the Kallaco portal to upload images of the vaccination card you received when you were administered your dose(s). This process takes only a few minutes. The Records section will walk you through the process to upload each dose. Kallaco is also accepting the vaccines listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization; select âOtherâ when you upload if your vaccine is WHO approved, but not listed. If you need assistance to upload your vaccination card, please emailHealthyTogether@wm.edu.
Get vaccinated. Having a high level of vaccination in our university community is the way we can safely and responsibly convene in-person in the regular ways that matter so much to university life. Being vaccinated is also the single most effective thing we can do to protect our own health and that of those around us. In Virginia, visit Vaccinate Virginia to learn more about vaccines and make an appointment, or call your pharmacist or doctor.
We realize this news is especially unwelcome for students, whom we emailed recently to share details about what campus life was anticipated to look like in the fall. The lack of self-reported W&M vaccine data, along with the national surge in COVID-19 cases predominantly among the unvaccinated, have driven us to provide this update. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, our first priority is the health of our community.
William & Mary has no higher hope than that our current numbers reflect a lack of reporting more than a lack of vaccination in the community. That said, the COVID-19 Response and Public Health Advisory teams can only plan based on the data we are able to obtain. The data we receive in the next two days are critical to that planning process and will inform decisions we need to make now for the semester that starts next month.
As a community, we want to remain healthy together and urge each of you to do your part.
Sincerely,
Ginger Ambler
Vice President for Student AffairsAmy Sebring
Chief Operating Officer and COVID-19 Director
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My sentiments exactly. My D and I are shocked and dismayed that the current vaccination rates among students and staff are so low at this point. I could accept masking in classrooms but Iâll be particularly upset if students canât walk about freely unmasked within their own dorm communities. I know the school doesnât want to discriminate between vaccinated and unvaccinated but I really wish there was a legal way to divide the dorms among the two groups so that vaccinated students can live almost normally within their dorm buildings. Let those who choose the freedom not to vaccinate take the greater risk! (I would exempt the truly medically vulnerable from this).
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Why do they say they wonât mandate the vaccine?? Thatâs awful news. Iâm sorry.
Waiting for full FDA approval: https://www.wm.edu/sites/pathforward/health/vaccinations/index.php
Could it be because theyâre a public school and concerned about liability? Doesnât seem to be stopping other public universities but could be a factor. Also read that only 400 schools out of approximately 4000 in the US have mandated vaccines so far which surprised me tbh.
Well, other schools are mandating it.
Indiana U mandating it. SUNYs mandating it. Others too Iâm sure.
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And yetâŠCovid will find a wayâŠ
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what does that mean? Mandating the vaccine will absolutely minimize students and faculty from getting very sick.
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Agreed, but Covid is coming to campus.
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I just donât understand your point though. Covid is certainly coming to campus in a lesser way if 90 plus percent are vaccinated. Thatâs only going to happen if itâs mandated. W&M dropped the ball believing their surveys that seemed to say a large percent would send vaccine cards.
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@homerdog They are considering mandating it. They say that mitigation measures:
âcould include limitations on social gatherings, sporting events and other public activities; reinstating universal masking requirements regardless of vaccination status; and/or mandatory vaccinations before the start of the fall semester.â
I have written them making it clear that we support a mandate, and I will suggest that my students write also. The biggest thing for us is in-person classes, followed by being able to visit other dorms and enter other dorm rooms. We have not sent our room and board payment yet and wonât until we know more.
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When is the bill due? I would tell them they arenât seeing a dime until you know the state of what fall will look like. They cannot switch gears so much after everyone has paid.
Iâm struggling to understand how schools that were uber-careful about Covid mitigation up until now will just say, âBut vaccines,â when infections pop up. Did they have some come to Jesus moment?
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I think the incidence of infection will be different in a population of 95% vaccinated vs. 56.2% vaccinated.
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Vaccines are the way out. If 95 percent of students and staff are vaccinated, a small rural campus should be ok. Sure there might be a few cases. They will test for that. Cases will be mild. Both of our kidsâ colleges have plans for isolation when needed.
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Unfortunately, we have paid in full. Although, in reality, since my D is an only child, I canât imagine keeping her home another year. Iâm pretty sure Iâd let her try a semester on campus, even with restrictions of masking and distancing. Her roommate reports being vaccinated and sheâs looking forward to the dorm experience. But if classes are mostly virtualâŠwell, I just donât know how Iâll react to that.
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Will dorms in colleges with vaccine mandates also ban unvaccinated guests ? Will prospective students and their families on college tours be banned from going into the dorms if unvaccinated? Could unvaccinated friends and families of the dorm employees be banned from entering the building to visit?
You see my point. It would be very difficult to create a bubble of only vaccinated people in those semi public large accommodations. My dorm building hosted community events in the common room several times a week like choir practice for School kids .