Ninety percent of UNC students have now attested to being vaccinated for COVID-19, just two weeks into the fall semester.
UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz shared a release announcing the benchmark on Thursday. He said the achievement is a major milestone for campus safety.
“Knowing that so many of our students are being proactive to protect their health and the health of the Carolina community is heart-warming and inspiring,” said Guskiewicz.
Attesting vaccination status for COVID-19 was a key part in students’ preparation for the fall semester, with those who did not attest their status completing entry testing for the virus upon a return to Chapel Hill. So far in the 2021-22 academic year, the university is not mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, but it is “strongly encouraged.” University officials said in Thursday’s release that getting the vaccine and wearing a mask while indoors “is the best way for the Carolina community to protect themselves and others.”
If students are not vaccinated or have not attested their status, they are required to be COVID-19 tested twice per week using the Carolina Together Testing Program. Testing is conducted at the Carolina Union on Mondays and Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Carolina Together Testing Center is closed on the weekends.
Asymptomatic students, regardless of vaccination status, can also use the Carolina Together Testing Program. UNC reiterated in Thursday’s release, though, that vaccinated and asymptomatic students are not recommended to be tested more than once a week for the coronavirus. Symptomatic students are encouraged to contact UNC Campus Health instead of testing through the Carolina Together Testing Program.
Last week, UNC’s positivity rate was 2.45 percent for asymptomatic tests and 8 percent for symptomatic testing, according to the Carolina Together Dashboard. The university saw a spike in cases on August 25-28, registering 192 positive COVID-19 cases within the four-day span. Earlier this week, UNC reported 92 students living in residence halls meant for isolation at one point and also alerted the campus of four clusters of positive cases within undergraduate dorms.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services defines a cluster as “a minimum of five cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14 day period AND plausible epidemiological linkage between cases.”
On Wednesday, UNC also shared updates to its process of alerting the Carolina community about COVID-19 clusters.
“We will now update the Carolina Together dashboard with any clusters in residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses as well as new case counts each weekday and provide a regular email from the CTTP summarizing the latest information from testing and clusters,” UNC said.
In previous semesters, the university reported a cluster when the number of cases in a residence hall reached five, regardless of if there was an epidemiological link.
Some people, however, say UNC’s public health protocols need to go a step further. Representatives of the Chapel Hill university said the power to require COVID-19 vaccinations for students, faculty and staff lie with the UNC System and its president.
Orange County state representative Graig Meyer, however, recently told 97.9 The Hill he believes more can be done to raise vaccination rates for the coronavirus in the local college settings.
“I think we are at a point where we have to use the leverage from all angles to get people vaccinated,” Meyer said. “I would like to see the university require vaccination in order for people to attend the university’s large scale public events, like football games.”
Meyer said he has spoken with several UNC officials about their public health policies for athletics events, which were released in August. Fans at fall sporting events will not be required to show proof of vaccination nor will masks be required in outdoor seating, which Meyer said he believes may not be enough to maintain public health.
Additionally, members of the campus community are organizing a demonstration advocating for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on Friday, September 10. Organizers say people will gather at Wilson Library and distribute chalk to draw “+” symbols on the sidewalks to “represent the rising COVID-19 positive cases on campus.”
UNC students who are not yet vaccinated can receive their shots at Campus Health Student Stores Pharmacy. For more information on UNC’s COVID-19 data and protocols, visit the Carolina Together website.
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