Purdue asks campus community to participate in new COVID-19 vaccine verification program

All faculty, staff and students affiliated with the West Lafayette campus are encouraged to participate in a new verification program once they’ve been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to assist Protect Purdue efforts in managing the health and safety of the campus community.

Through a brief Qualtrics survey, those who have fully completed their COVID-19 vaccination — two shots of Moderna/Pfizer or the single dosage of Johnson & Johnson — can upload an image of their vaccine verification card and communicate any related details to the Protect Purdue Health Center. 

The Protect Purdue Health Center will use this information to provide care and guidance for the campus community, specifically related to ongoing testing, quarantine and isolation, for those fully vaccinated individuals who have been exposed to the coronavirus, said Dr. Esteban Ramirez, chief medical officer for the Protect Purdue Health Center. Having proof of vaccination on-file will make the patient experience smoother when under the care of PPHC.

“We continue to encourage all Boilermakers to get the vaccine as soon as they are eligible, including those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past. And having information from the vaccination verification program on hand will be extremely helpful to allow the PPHC and other health-care providers on campus to continue our efforts to provide optimal care,” Ramirez said. 

“The CDC is regularly updating guidance on what you can do if you’re vaccinated, and we want to be ready to activate our Purdue campus. In the near term, for example, those fully vaccinated who are exposed to COVID-19 will not need to test or quarantine as long as they remain symptom-free.”

In a campus-wide survey completed this month by the Purdue COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Task Force, 2,261 individuals of the more than 26,700 respondents reported having been fully vaccinated or being in the process of being vaccinated.

Although some 74% of respondents reported they were not yet eligible to receive the vaccine at the time of the survey, more than 92% of that group indicated they plan to get the vaccine when they are able. 

Three COVID-19 vaccines are now available in the United States that have been deemed safe and highly effective by the FDA. To date, more than 830,000 Indiana residents have been fully vaccinated and about 26,000 on average are receiving the vaccine every day, the Indiana Department of Health reports.

All Boilermakers are encouraged to receive a vaccination as soon as they are eligible to do so under IDOH guidelines at any vaccine distribution site in Indiana. 

For now, fully vaccinated individuals are still asked to follow all Protect Purdue protocols, including wearing a face mask correctly and consistently, avoiding large gatherings, practicing social distancing and participating in surveillance testing. 

Committed to continuously identifying and reinstating valued elements of campus life while protecting Purdue, University leadership and the Protect Purdue Medical Advisory Team are closely monitoring CDC guidance for fully vaccinated individuals and weighing possible changes to Protect Purdue protocols and requirements as individuals, and a greater percentage of our overall campus community, become fully vaccinated.

Purdue is preparing to be a vaccine distribution site as soon as approval is given and supply is made available by the IDOH. More Purdue information about the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine eligibility and the Purdue COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Task Force is available on the Protect Purdue website.