SPRINGFIELD, Mo., April 14, 2021 — Faculty, staff and students on Drury University’s Springfield campus are moving swiftly to protect themselves and their community against COVID-19 through vaccination.
Drury is asking members of its community to voluntarily self-report vaccination rates, with the information updated on its COVID-19 dashboard each Wednesday. The overall vaccination rate for the Drury community is 26 percent for at least partial vaccination and 15 percent for full vaccination. Because the information is self-reported, it’s likely these rates are somewhat conservative.
Faculty and staff, in particular, have taken up vaccination at rates that exceed local, state and national levels. As of today:
A recent on-site vaccine clinic for students saw more than 10 percent of the traditional undergraduate population receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in a single day.
Information about vaccination rates will help university leaders better understand the state of protection against the virus on campus as it wraps up this semester and prepares for the 2021-22 academic year.
“Throughout the pandemic, Drury’s small size has provided an opportunity to get our arms around the situation and manage the logistics of health and safety while providing a fully in-person college experience for our students,” says Drury President Dr. Tim Cloyd. “Our students, faculty and staff have stepped up to support one another and keep each other safe all year long, so I’m not surprised to see such a great response to vaccinations so far.”
Finishing a fully in-person academic year
The steady rise in vaccination rates comes as Drury marks its 10th straight week of zero positive results from its weekly community testing regimen. The university has tested at least 10 percent of randomly selected students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 since August, and increased that amount to as high as 40 percent of students for most of the spring semester. Drury will continue this testing through the end of the semester.
The streak comes as Drury enters the final stretch of a fully in-person academic year. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, just 2 percent of college and universities have conducted classes fully in-person this year.
“We’ve done this thanks in no small part to the consideration our students and employees have shown for one another this year by following the Panther Plan we developed last spring,” says David Hinson, chief operating officer and executive vice president. “We’ve lived the Drury Difference by proving ourselves to be a caring, supportive community. It hasn’t been easy, and we are not yet finished with this year, but I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished together.”
###
Media Contact: Mike Brothers, Executive Director of University Relations – (417) 873-7390 or mikebrothers@drury.edu.