LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Transylvania University has 94% of its campus community vaccinated, a spokeswoman said Wednesday, a week before an October 13 deadline to comply with its vaccine mandate.
“I think that our vaccination rate is indicative that exactly what folks have done is made informed decisions about their health,” said Megan Moloney, the university’s vice president for communications and marketing. “[It’s] about public health and what they can do to help protect their community.”
The university enacted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in late August after the FDA granted full authorization to the Pfizer vaccine. At the time, Moloney said, about 74% of the campus community was vaccinated.
According to data from the University of Kentucky, 85% of students have been vaccinated, as well as 95% of faculty. Unlike Transylvania, UK does not have a vaccine mandate.
LEX 18 also reached out to Berea College, which was one of the first colleges or universities in the state to issue a vaccine mandate. Jodi Whitaker, the media relations manager, issued the following statement:
“Students were required to be vaccinated or receive a waiver prior to returning to campus for classes for the Fall 2021 semester. All but five of the 1,550 students enrolled this semester at Berea College are vaccinated, and those five have received medical or religious waivers. The five unvaccinated students are COVID tested weekly.
“One hundred students chose not to return to campus this semester. First-year students had the option of deferring their first semester to the Spring of 2022, while others chose to take a leave of absence.
“As of Monday, 89 percent of Berea College employees have been vaccinated. There is no deadline for employee vaccinations, as those are not mandatory but are encouraged. Unvaccinated employees are required to be COVID tested on a weekly basis.”
