COVID-19 Update: April 19, 2021

Dear Bereans,

This is the update for Monday, April 19, 2021.

Quarantine, testing and vaccination update

I am pleased to announce that there continue to be no positive tests or quarantines among our on-campus employees. Among on-campus students, we have three pre-cautionary quarantines right now, two due to approved travel and one for symptoms and a positive antigen test, which will need to be confirmed through a PCR test.

Policy update for the summer

This summer fully vaccinated students who have an approved off-campus labor position or internship may live on campus.

Kentucky and Madison County update

The Madison County Health Department reported 11, 3, 6, and 0 (!) new cases for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and yesterday. The number of current active cases has gone down to 67. Our 7-day average of new cases per day remains at 8, keeping us in the Yellow Zone now at 8.0 new cases per day per 100,000 residents. The total number of deaths in the county attributable to COVID-19 as reported by the State remains at 109.

Gov. Beshear reported 713, 599, 275, and 231 new COVID-19 cases and 10, 3, 4, and 4 new deaths for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today, respectively, in Kentucky. The 7-day average of the number of new cases/day is down a bit to 509 and the average of numbers of deaths/day is down by 1 to 8. The latest test positivity rate is virtually unchanged at 3.46%. The upturn in Kentucky may be pausing.

Vaccination opportunities from Wild Health

I am delighted to pass along from Collis Robinson that there will be two opportunities to receive the COVID vaccine this upcoming week (Tuesday, April 20^th and Friday, April 23^rd). Do note that the vaccine location for this week will be moving to the main Seabury Arena. Use the link below to sign up for your first dose. Also note that you may sign up for your second dose using the same link below. Students who were vaccinated in the first two Wild Health rounds should sign up for second doses on the 20^th.

https://kyvax.wildhealth.com/

These opportunities are for ALL students as well as for faculty, staff, family members and community members. Students should especially note that you want to get in both doses before you leave for the summer. This Friday might be one of the last times you can do a first dose and still get your second dose if you are leaving for the summer.

Thoughts on Vaccination:

The Health Commissioner’s Job

It is so very unfortunate that the decision on whether to be vaccinated or not has become yet another issue on which Americans are deeply polarized. I have decided to begin addressing this topic regularly in this space, each time discussing just one aspect of the concerns that have been raised. My perspective on the subject is informed by reputable science and by the authoritative announcements of federal and state public health authorities. I acknowledge, of course, that everything science has to say about the coronavirus and vaccination is tentative, as all science is. However, it is my conviction as a scientist myself, that even given that, better decisions are likely to be made with that guidance than by any other source.

I realize of course that not every Berean will agree with me either on anything I share, or on my approach to deciding my own views on this issue. That is fine. I am not trying to dictate anyone else’s opinion, and anyone is welcome to reply to me with respect to anything I say; I will read what you have to say. However, I will not share opposing views with the community—that is up to you using social media or your medium of preference. If something that comes back to me changes my mind on any aspect of significance, then I will certainly share that with the readers of these updates.

Today I want to share a thought from Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health in our commonwealth, well known to most of us because of his frequent contributions to Governor Andy Beshear’s public communications. This comment of his was shared last Thursday with a group of presidents of the AIKCU colleges and universities. AIKCU is the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities, the organization of private institutions of higher education in Kentucky. We get together with Dr. Stack on Zoom from time to time to make sure we are on the same page with the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

Dr. Stack’s comment, which really struck me, was that he considers it not to be his job to save the life of every citizen of our commonwealth from COVID-19, but rather to give every citizen the opportunity to save his or her own life. He made this comment in the context of the broad availability of vaccines now. (Earlier, that effort to give us the chance to save our lives revolved around promoting masking, social distancing, and other measures to slow the spread.) I, personally, believe we should all take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Also of interest is what other colleges and universities are deciding with respect to requiring vaccination. Here is the most recent list I have seen (from the Chronicle of Higher Education) of colleges and universities that have decided to require all students to be vaccinated prior to attending in the Fall. Quite a range of institutions is represented on the list, and I was particularly interested to see the appearance of Paul Quinn College because it is another school in the Work Colleges Consortium and also serves almost entirely Pell-eligible students.