90 Percent Of University Of Wisconsin Community Fully Vaccinated

MADISON, WI — With fall classes set to begin at the University of Wisconsin, 90 percent of the entire school community is fully vaccinated without a requirement to do so in place, school officials announced on Thursday.

While the school said that efforts to increase that number are ongoing, officials reported that the university has “met and exceeded” its goals for the vaccination of students. The rates are based on the number of students coming to campus for in-person learning, the university said in a news release.

In addition to the 90 percent of fully vaccinated university community members, the school reported that 92 percent of employees are fully vaccinated and among faculty, that number jumps to 99 percent based on those working at UW’s Madison campus.

Ninety-two percent of students living in university residence halls are fully vaccinated while 94 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccines. These numbers are verified through either documentation of on-campus vaccination or the upload of off-campus vaccination records.

“Our high level of vaccination means that we have a robust level of protection on campus and fewer members of our community will experience severe infections caused by COVID-19, compared to areas with lower vaccination rates,” University Chancellor Rebecca Blank said.

Blank added that like any large population, the campus is still likely to experience COVID-19 cases and breakthrough infections, which generally produce milder illness.

Statewide, unvaccinated residents are being hospitalized at a rate four times higher than those who have been fully vaccinated, the school said in the release. In Dane County alone over the past month, COVID-19 cases are up 24 percent among the unvaccinated but have remained stable among those who have gotten the vaccines.

“The students at UW–Madison have demonstrated again that we have built a culture of responsibility on our campuses,” interim UW System President Tommy Thompson said the release.

The school said that the university’s vaccination rate meets or exceeds those of other Big Ten schools, many of which have vaccination requirements in place for students. The university’s health services department is continuing to offer free COVID-19 vaccines for those who have not yet received them.

The new data is encouraging and a sign of how seriously the university community is taking the threat of COVID-19, according to Dr. Jim Conway, a professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine & Public Health and UW Health pediatrician who specializes in infectious disease.

“There is clearly a collective desire to return to campus and successfully navigate the academic year,” Conway said in the release. “There will be challenges, but this provides some reason for optimism – thanks to strong leadership, consistent messaging, well organized public health measures, and this collective commitment to immunization.”