With school starting again next month, officials at higher education institutions across Utah are working on plans to help students safely return, especially since it’s difficult to accurately know how many of those students are actually vaccinated.
Amanda DeRito is the associate vice president for strategic communications at Utah State University and said USU officials are struggling to know how many students are vaccinated and this will be the main concern going forward.
“We know that the student age population across the nation is one of our lowest vaccinated groups so we really are going to focus on that for fall semester," DeRito said.
DeRito said there will be resources for incoming students to get the vaccination as they come in for the new semester.
“We’re making plans right now to have some vaccine clinics on campus and get as many students who aren’t already vaccinated, vaccinated, you know, early into the fall semester so that we can make sure we keep students healthy through the fall semester," she said.
The University of Utah is also taking steps to educate students about vaccination. Lori McDonald is the vice president of student affairs at The U.
“We certainly are encouraging everyone in our campus community, students but I would also suggest faculty and staff, to get a vaccination if they are able and willing," she said. "And if they have any questions about it we want to certainly provide as much education for them as possible so they can make those decisions.”
Staying educated and looking for reliable information about getting vaccinated can help students take the next step in getting the vaccination, according to McDonald. She said the school is providing information online to help students with those things.
