Dear Campus Community,
Here is some important information about the COVID-19 vaccine.1. We don’t want people to get sick with COVID-19 of any variant. Period.
2. The risk of getting sick is increasing again because the delta variant is more transmissible. Where someone with the original COVID-19 infected an average of 2.5 people (there are those half people again), someone with the delta variant infects 5.0 to 8.0 people.
3. The delta variant is now responsible for more than 80% of the infections in the US.
4. Over the past two months in the US, 99% of the deaths and 97% of the hospitalizations from COVID-19 were of unvaccinated people.
5. Vaccines are safe.
6. Vaccines are effective against the variant. Can vaccinated people still get sick? Yes, but evidence so far shows that most people who have “breakthrough” infections after immunization have less severe symptoms.
7. In the US, an average of 68.6% of adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination. You can review Minnesota vaccine data by county. St. Louis County currently has 65.8% of the population 16 years or older vaccinated.
8. Vaccination is free. Everywhere to everyone. You can find vaccination sites via MN Vaccine Connector, vaccines.gov, texting your ZIP code to 438829, or calling 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you.
9. Want to protect yourself and others more? Continue to wear a mask. They’re still required in some situations, particularly anywhere health care is provided.
10. The University continues to monitor the situation in real time and in all its complexity.
Why are there so many links? We understand that you need to make your own decisions and want you to have access to the same information we are using: scientific, reliable, accurate, and timely.
Sincerely,
Dr. David Worley MD
UMD Health Services
