Dear Campus Community,
As of our August 1 deadline, 81% of our students are on record with the Earle Student Health Center (ESHC) as fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and another 7% are in the process of getting vaccinated and/or plan to submit their vaccination records. We still have not heard from 4% of our student body and are working diligently to collect their information. It’s projected that 90% of the student body will be fully vaccinated by the start of the fall semester. Ninety-three percent of our faculty and 71% of our staff are also on record as fully vaccinated.
We are still on pace for moving to the GREEN: Normal Operations phase for the fall semester, but will continue with our current PURPLE phase protocols while we collect the remaining records. To be clear, this means that individuals who are not fully vaccinated should continue to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing indoors, and wear a mask outdoors if physical distancing is not possible.
As a reminder, students who have not submitted their vaccination records or an exemption request will not be permitted to return to campus.
We are so grateful to our community for making the vaccine a priority. As a result, our campus is better protected from infection and transmission of COVID-19 variants. On July 27, the CDC announced that to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others, fully vaccinated individuals should wear a mask indoors in public when in an area of “substantial or high transmission.” Because of your diligence, our campus community is currently not an area of high or substantial transmission.
Meanwhile, Delta variant cases continue to increase across the country and in the greater Greenville area. We will take extra precaution as we start the semester: Students who are not fully vaccinated are required to provide a negative COVID test prior to arrival to campus. These students will soon receive a separate communication with more details.
Additionally, our COVID Response Committee, the Public Health and Safety Advisory Group, and Human Resources are closely monitoring the circumstances related to the Delta variant and any other evolving COVID-19 concerns to determine the appropriateness of any adjustments or contingencies as we prepare for the fall semester.
Vaccination rates among Furman community members are available on Furman’s COVID Dashboard, and are updated each Thursday. Additional information is available on the Furman Focused website.
We continue to be proud of our campus community for all that you have done to help us navigate this pandemic together, and we are excited for the fall semester. We will provide more information about our forthcoming move to the GREEN: Normal Operations phase in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please email furman.focused@furman.edu.
Sincerely,
The COVID Response Committee