With less than a week until classes start, the University of Wisconsin reported nine of out 10 students and employees were fully vaccinated.
The data released Thursday showed 88% of students are fully vaccinated and 91% have received at least one dose as of Sept. 1. Ninety-two percent of staff are fully vaccinated, including 99% of faculty.
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For students living in the dorms, 92% of residents are fully vaccinated and 94% have received at least one dose. In all, 90% of the campus community is completely vaccinated.
In an announcement of the data, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said the high level of vaccination signals a robust level of protection and means fewer people on campus will experience severe COVID-19 infections.
“I’m proud of our students and employees for taking this important step to protect themselves and others,” Blank said. “And I’m grateful to our staff, who worked tirelessly to achieve these results.”
The UW-Madison campus vaccination rates are on par with or exceed other Big Ten universities — including institutions with vaccination mandates that have reported their numbers in recent weeks:
- Purdue University: 80%
- Indiana University: 86%
- University of Illinois: 88%
- University of Michigan: 92%
- Northwestern University: 93%
- Rutgers University: 98%
UW outpaces the rest of the state and Dane County. As of Wednesday, 62.2% of Wisconsin adults were fully vaccinated and 74.2% of Dane County residents received at least one dose.
The university also tops other UW System schools’ vaccination rates, with UW-La Crosse at 70% and UW-Eau Claire at 51.8% this week. Other UW System universities have not released their data publicly.
Jim Conway, a UW infectious disease expert, said in a statement the campus’ vaccination data shows a “collective desire” to safely start the academic year.
UW will also enforce a mask mandate for indoor spaces and announced a weekly testing requirement for all unvaccinated students in August.
“There will be challenges, but this provides some reason for optimism — thanks to strong leadership, consistent messaging, well organized public health measures and this collective commitment to immunization,” Conway said. “Badgers have shown that they trust the science.”
