Throughout the fall semester, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley is providing regular email update messages to keep students and parents informed about the efforts related to COVID-19.
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
Today’s weekly COVID-19 update includes important information on the following topics:
- Current status
- Student flu vaccine requirement
- Faculty/staff flu vaccine clinics
- Reduce your close contacts
- What to do if you feel ill
- Additional sources of information
- Chaplain’s reflection
Current status
- Elon’s current COVID-19 alert level is currently at “Level 3 – High Alert.”
- Since the September 16 email update, there have been 95 new positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed among students, faculty and staff. 57 of those cases came from last Thursday and Friday and were included in the email messages to the community on those days.
- As of yesterday afternoon, there were 295 students in quarantine or isolation. Of those, 128 are either positive cases or exhibiting symptoms, while 167 are students who have had close contact with a positive case.
- The Alamance County Health Department has reported an additional cluster of cases to the state, among student-athletes from the Track and Field team.
- Information about university action steps in response to the shift to Level 3 – High Alert can be found in Dr. Jeff Stein’s message to the campus community from Monday, September 21, available here. We will notify the community directly via email when there are changes to the campus alert level.
Student flu vaccine requirement
In accordance with the strong recommendations of public health officials, Elon will require all students to receive the flu vaccine before returning to campus for classes in January. Important notes:
- Students can receive the flu vaccine at one of the on-campus clinics scheduled this fall or can do so through a private provider.
- The university will cover all out-of-pocket costs not covered by insurance for students who receive their flu vaccine at one of the clinics held on-campus.
- Students may also receive a flu vaccine off-campus at almost any pharmacy or their primary care physician. Most flu vaccines are covered by insurance, but students are responsible for any additional out-of-pocket costs for flu vaccines received through off-campus providers. Students should upload documentation of their flu vaccine on their Phoenix Health Portal.
- Students requesting a medical or religious exemption should file the request no later than October 31, 2020, using the form available online here.
Details about this flu vaccine requirement can be found online here.
Faculty/staff flu vaccine clinics
Information about the faculty and staff flu clinics each Wednesday can be found on the Faculty Staff Wellness Clinic website.
Reduce your close contacts
Our data on positive cases thus far indicates that students who limit their social interactions to a smaller consistent group of friends are less likely to contract the virus. Ideally, you should have only a handful of “close contacts” (people with whom you interact for more than 15 minutes, less than 6 feet apart, without wearing a mask) and they should only include your roommate or people with whom you share a house or apartment. If your list of close contacts is longer than that, you increase your risk of exposure and are more likely to contract the virus or be expected to quarantine as a close contact of a positive case.
What to do if you feel ill
If you feel ill or experience COVID-19 symptoms, avoid all contact with others. Stay at home and in your room. Do not go to class, work, dining halls, etc. Guidance for students, faculty, and staff on what to do if you feel ill is on the Ready and Resilient website.
Sources of information
For more information about COVID-19 and the university response, visit the Elon Ready and Resilient website; the COVID-19 dashboard, which includes links to federal, state, and regional data sources; and the Today at Elon news and information website.
Chaplain’s reflection
University Chaplain Jan Fuller offers a weekly reflection to help us in our search for meaning during this challenging time. This week’s reflection, “Find Something Old” can be found here on the Truitt Center blog.
The next weekly COVID-19 update will be sent to all students, faculty, and staff at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, September 30, unless an earlier message is warranted.
—
Dr. Jon Dooley
Vice President for Student Life