In an email Monday, University of Idaho President Scott Green encouraged all students, faculty and staff to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment following updated guidelines from Public Health – Idaho North Central District allowing anyone age 16 and older to get the vaccine through enrolled providers within Latah, Nez Perce, Lewis, Clearwater and Idaho counties.
Gritman Medical Center continues to host vaccine clinics at the Student Recreation Center Thursdays and Fridays. Slots are available at the Idaho registration site.
Green urges students to schedule ahead in order to receive both doses of the vaccine before the end of the semester.
“We strongly encourage all Vandals to be vaccinated,” Green stated. “It is the best way to keep our community healthy and to allow us to return to activities in more normal ways.”
Last week’s mandatory COVID-19 testing yielded a 0.35% positivity rate of the 3,970 people tested, according to UI’s COVID-19 website. In January, when students returned from winter break, university-wide mandatory testing reported a 1.7% positivity rate.
Students who have yet to receive their test results are currently ineligible for in-person instruction. Beginning Friday, those students will be locked out of university systems, including BbLearn and VandalWeb.
Fully vaccinated students are eligible for in-person attendance once proper documentation is provided to the university.
While COVID-19 ates are low and the vaccine is accessible to everyone in Latah County, random university surveillance testing will continue.
Angela Palermo contributed to this report.
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq