With one week until classes begin and move-in underway, the Protect Purdue Health Monitoring and Surveillance Team released updated data Tuesday (Aug. 17), showing that 40,496, or 75%, of all West Lafayette students, faculty and staff have submitted proof and been verified as fully vaccinated, with some areas showing significantly higher percentages. Of students living in University Residences this fall, 84% have submitted valid proof of full vaccination to date, as have 86% of faculty.

Fully vaccinated individuals who have not yet submitted their documentation, as well as partially vaccinated individuals in process, are not included in the campus vaccination rate.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is a key component of the university’s Protect Purdue efforts to combat the spread of the virus on campus this fall, coupled with pre-arrival testing for those moving into University Residences and Fraternity/Sorority/Co-Operative Living spaces, routine surveillance testing of the unvaccinated, the use of face masks in all indoor spaces by all, and ensuring all Boilermakers have a personal plan to quarantine or isolate, if necessary, particularly the unvaccinated.

As the pandemic persists, the key to upholding the Protect Purdue Pledge for students, faculty and staff is choosing to be vaccinated and submitting valid proof or taking part in routine surveillance testing, which will begin Monday, the first day of classes, and will be as frequent as weekly for many.

“We are pleased that so many of our students, faculty and staff have taken responsibility and chosen to get vaccinated,” said Eric Barker, dean of the College of Pharmacy and leader of the Protect Purdue Health Monitoring and Surveillance team. “But the work is not done. Our real goal is to provide the safest environment possible for our campus community and to protect our in-person educational operation. We want our rate of validated vaccinations to increase to 80%-90% overall and those rates are in our sights. We are seeing more individuals submitting their documentation each day and our on-site clinic continues to vaccinate students as they arrive on campus, as well as faculty and staff.”

With one week before classes and surveillance testing begin:

  • 75% of all students have submitted valid proof of full vaccination, more than double the current vaccination rate of those ages 16-19 (35.9%), 20-24 (36.4%) and 25-29 (33.2%) in the state of Indiana as reported by Indiana Department of Health.
  • 84% of students living in university residences have submitted valid proof of full vaccination.
  • 76% of students in Fraternity, Sorority, and Co-Operative Life (FSCL) have submitted valid proof of full vaccination.
  • 86% of faculty members have submitted valid proof of full vaccination.
  • Purdue Athletics reports that more than 85% of its students-athletes and staff are fully vaccinated.

All students living in University Residences ora Fraternity/Sorority/Cooperative Life (FSCL) facility must be asymptomatic and submit one of the following forms of documentation before they may move in:

  • A CDC completed vaccine card (or other international documentation for WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines) demonstrating that the individual is fully vaccinated.
  • A negative COVID-19 diagnostic test taken within five days prior to moving in. The test may be performed prior to arrival by a licensed health care provider/laboratory and COVID-19 antibody tests will not be accepted.
  • A positive COVID-19 test result more than 14 days but less than 90 days before arriving on campus.

“These inspiring, and growing, numbers provide some comfort, knowing that more than 40,000 of our students, faculty and staff are indeed vaccinated, and have a much higher protection against infection,” said Dr. Esteban Ramirez, Protect Purdue Health Center chief medical officer. “The more people we have vaccinated on campus, the safer we are as a community. And for the individual, vaccination is still the single best way to drastically reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization or death.”

Masks are currently required inside all campus buildings, regardless of vaccination status. Full Protect Purdue masking protocols are available online. Violations of these protocols will be considered violations of the Protect Purdue Pledge and will be subject to disciplinary action. As with all Protect Purdue protocols, this policy is subject to change depending on the latest data, including campus vaccination rates. Starting Tuesday (Aug. 17), Purdue will add the number of verified, fully vaccinated individuals and the overall campus vaccination rate to its dynamic COVID-19 dashboard on the Protect Purdue website.