MONT ALTO, Pa. — As of Sept. 8, Penn State Mont Alto has released vaccination rates for students and employees at the campus.
At Penn State Mont Alto, 84% of full-time employees indicated they are fully vaccinated, including 100% of administrators, 85% of faculty, and 83% of nonunion staff.
Among students, 59% of students living on campus uploaded their proof of vaccination, and 44% of students living off campus uploaded their proof of vaccination. The combined rate for all students at Penn State Mont Alto is approximately 47%, the same as Franklin County’s rate for fully vaccinated people, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 Data Tracker.
With more students continuing to upload their proof of vaccination each day, the hope is that the actual vaccination rates on campus may be higher. However, 53% of the campus’ students have not yet responded, so their vaccination status is unknown. At this time, the overall campus vaccination rate is higher than the vaccination rate in Franklin County, although the overall student rate is exactly the same as the county’s.
“We appreciate all our faculty, staff and students who have made the health and safety of our community a high priority and gotten vaccinated and shared their vaccine status. Students who haven’t yet received the vaccine may be shortchanging themselves,” said Mont Alto Chancellor Francis K. Achampong. “They may have to isolate or quarantine when necessary, which affects their academic and social experience. If they are student athletes, they will miss games and possibly let their teammates down if a team cannot be fielded. We will be engaging our campus community about how to get more of them vaccinated so that we can all have an optimum in-person experience this fall.”
Penn State Mont Alto has and continues to take a number of steps to support the health and safety of the campus population. A symposium on Oct. 18 will be devoted to a discussion about vaccines; a vaccine clinic will be held on campus on Sept. 28 with a second-dose clinic on Oct. 28; and the campus will be announcing drawings and giveaways for students who upload their vaccine status over the next four weeks.
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. Testing has begun and results are being posted on the COVID-19 dashboard. To avoid weekly testing, Penn State Mont Alto students can upload their vaccination records through myUHS. Campus employees can upload their vaccination records through Salesforce Health Cloud.
Voluntary testing is available at Penn State Mont Alto. Student tests are being distributed at Conklin Hall, Room 103, or can be ordered through the mail via the Vault Health mail-in test kit.
Penn State Mont Alto students who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should contact health services at 717-749-6160 or the 24/7 nurse line for assessment. If the health care professional determines the student should be tested, the campus will help the student with access to testing.
The University strongly encourages all individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible 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.