Purdue reaches vaccination milestone, asks for continued campus participation
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — One week after its opening, Purdue University’s on-campus clinic has vaccinated more than 15,000 people – virtually all of them students – against COVID-19. They join thousands more who have received vaccinations at one of Indiana’s other vaccination sites in recent months.
Protect Purdue leaders say this commitment must continue to ensure the safest possible campus for the remainder of spring semester, as well as fall – when a return to full in-person instruction is planned.
The clinic, which opened April 6, continues to operate 10 hours a day and through the weekends, thanks to the tireless work of hundreds of staff and volunteers. Through April 26, walk-ups will be accepted at the site and eligibility has been expanded to include spouses and dependents affiliated with the West Lafayette campus and official Purdue retirees.
The university continues to encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“The entire Protect Purdue team is thrilled with the efforts being made by students, faculty and staff to not only get vaccinated, but also to continue to follow the Protect Purdue Pledge,” said Eric Barker, dean of the College of Pharmacy and member of the Protect Purdue Implementation Team. “The more people who are fully vaccinated, the safer our campus will be. Like so many of our campus community, we crave a return to a greater state of normalcy with summer and fall events, visitors, protocols and more. We are actively considering each aspect of the Protect Purdue Plan over the coming weeks. We can’t seriously decide to further relax some of the rules that have protected us throughout the pandemic, like surveillance testing or masking for instance, without knowing that a very high percentage of our campus population has been vaccinated first.”
In a survey sent to students, faculty and staff in March, about 80% of Boilermakers who responded indicated they had already received or were planning to receive a COVID vaccination, with another 10% undecided.
Once fully vaccinated, campus community members should upload vaccination verification. This small step, along with a new 30-second anonymous survey being issued this week, will help gauge what share of the campus community has been fully or partially vaccinated, where and when individuals plan to receive the vaccination and how much vaccine supply will be needed over the next month at the campus vaccine site.
Details on how to schedule a vaccination appointment on campus are available online. The latest information on guidelines, rules and regulations are posted on the Protect Purdue website and are included in Purdue Today and the Protect Purdue Weekly Briefing.