DALLAS, Pa. — Penn State Wilkes-Barre released vaccination rates as of Sept. 8 for students and employees at the campus.
At Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 87% of full-time employees indicated they are fully vaccinated, including 100% of administrators, 89% of academic personnel (instructors, researchers and faculty) and 86% of nonunion staff.
Because Penn State Wilkes-Barre is a commuter campus with no residential students, student vaccination submitted numbers may be lower compared to other campuses with residential students. To date, 55% of Penn State Wilkes-Barre students have provided their proof of vaccination to the University by uploading it to a secure campus health portal. With more students continuing to upload their proof of vaccination each day, the actual vaccination rates on campus may be higher. However, 45% of the campus’ students have not responded, so the status of those individuals’ vaccination rates is unknown. The vaccination rate of at least 55% for the student population is higher than Luzerne County’s average rate of 43% for individuals ages 20 to 24 and 37% for those ages 25 to 29.
“We are gratified to see such a large percentage of our faculty and staff are vaccinated,” said Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Dale Jones. “We are also seeing more and more students upload their proof of vaccination as the semester gets underway. This is vital for our campus and to promote the health and safety of the entire Penn State Wilkes-Barre community.”
Penn State Wilkes-Barre has and continues to take a number of steps to support the health and safety of the campus population, including:
- hosting listening sessions to hear input from students and employees;
- seeking to learn why some have not yet been vaccinated;
- providing information on local vaccination clinics;
- planning to host an on-campus vaccination clinic; and
- promoting vaccinations on digital signage and on social media.
Vaccination data for all Penn State campuses will be available on the COVID-19 dashboard later this month. Penn State’s 20 Commonwealth Campuses across Pennsylvania vary in size and demographics, with some campuses offering residential experiences while others providing for commuter students.
Penn State previously announced that unvaccinated students and employees will be required to submit to weekly testing for COVID-19 throughout the fall semester. Penn State Wilkes-Barre students can upload their vaccination records through myUHS. Campus employees can upload their vaccination records through Salesforce Health Cloud.
Voluntary and symptomatic testing is available at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Student tests are being distributed at Wilkes-Barre or can be ordered through the mail via the Vault Health mail-in test kit.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre students who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should seek symptomatic testing via Wilkes-Barre or a local provider. Employees who are experiencing symptoms are advised to schedule an appointment with their health care provider.
The University strongly encourages all individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as they are able, if they have not done so already. Throughout the fall semester, vaccines will be made available on or near all Penn State campuses. The CDC’s vaccines.gov website provides a list of nearby providers, including hospitals, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, department stores and grocery stores.
For the latest information about Penn State’s response to COVID-19, visit virusinfo.psu.edu.