Health and Medicine
Virginia Tech officials say they are receiving some limited pushback for the decision to require student vaccinations for the fall semester, but they see no better way to resume a normal campus experience. VT waited longer than some other colleges and universities to mandate vaccines, but officials say it became clear that to remove other requirements, like masking and social distancing, vaccinations became an imperative. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Virginia Tech says students may be granted vaccine exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Faculty and staff are “strongly encouraged” to be vaccinated, but the requirement will not apply to them.
Virginia Tech will require all students to be fully vaccinated by the start of the fall semester. There is no similar requirement for faculty and staff, but they are “strongly encouraged” to receive vaccines. Current plans call for an end to masking and social distancing requirements at VT when classes resume in late August.
FROM VIRGINIA TECH: Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education, advising that complete elimination of masking and distancing requirements for everyone would be advisable only if everyone is fully vaccinated. Our own data support this conclusion. The high population density in residence halls, off-campus housing, and classrooms — combined with the mobility of students — presents challenges not seen in other settings. Understanding that there will always be those in our community who should not be vaccinated, we must take care to limit exceptions and to ensure that those who are not vaccinated are able to participate in the Virginia Tech experience without fear for their personal health safety. This combination of CDC guidance and Virginia Tech’s own experience over the past three semesters has informed the following decisions regarding vaccinations.
Vaccinations will be required for all students attending Virginia Tech in the fall, with exemptions for medical reasons and sincerely held religious beliefs. During the past two semesters, we weathered significant surges in COVID-19 cases in Blacksburg. We did this through robust testing, self-quarantine, masking, and physical distancing. We must do everything possible to avoid repeating the challenges of the last 14 months, and to ensure that students who cannot be vaccinated are able to participate in campus life and in-person learning. It is essential that every student who can be vaccinated, is vaccinated.
Students should visit this site for more information about vaccination requirements, confirming vaccination status, and requesting an exemption. The deadline for students to report that they have received the full course of vaccine doses (one or two, depending on the vaccine) is Aug. 6, 2021.
Virginia Tech employees are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated. The need and frequency of testing for unvaccinated employees will be determined based on the risk an individual’s position presents to the community. In an employee survey last semester, nearly 90 percent of respondents reported being vaccinated. This response and the low prevalence of infection for employees in high-contact roles throughout the most recent semester give us confidence that the risk to and from employees will be relatively low and manageable if nearly everyone is vaccinated. The deadline for reporting the completion of the full course of vaccination doses is Aug. 15. More information about confirming vaccination status and requesting exceptions can be found here.
Sunday is NATIONAL CANCER SURVIVORS DAY. Each year – 1.8 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Upon learning this difficult news, individuals also have a minefield of complex information to navigate regarding treatment plans – insurance coverage – clinical trials, and more. “Your Cancer Road Map” is a guide to help those when they get a diagnosis on what options are available from the executive chair of the Cancer Support Community. WFIR’s Rob Ruthenberg has this report.
CLICK HERE for the community’s webpage.
Local health officials are increasingly taking it to the streets – or at least to mobile clinics – to reach people who have not yet received COVID 19 vaccinations. They’re literally cooking up some incentives later today, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
Click here for list of local COVID mobile vaccination events:
As COVID case numbers continue their steady decrease Carilion Clinic is posting for the last time numbers for the Near Southwest Region, which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and the Salem VA medical center. There are 61 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 17 ICU patients and 10 patients on ventilators. That’s 13 fewer ICU patients than one week ago and 8 fewer overall hospitalized for COVID-19. At its peak in mid-January the Near Southwest Region reported 450 patients.
Meanwhile the VDH today is reporting no new coronavirus deaths but 2 new related hospitalizations in the Roanoke Valley in the latest 24-hour reporting period. State officials are reporting 8 new coronavirus cases among Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem and Botetourt County. According to the department, there are 2 new cases in Roanoke City, 5 new cases and 2 new hospitalizations in Roanoke County, and 1 new case in Botetourt County.
Dr Noelle Bissell. Photo: Virginia Tech
As the Commonwealth moves towards the 70 percent-vaccinated goal by the beginning of July for each state – a target for the Biden Administration – more youth vaccinations will become a bigger part of the equation. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
The Virginia Department of Health reports no new COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths in the Roanoke region for a second straight day. State numbers for the latest 24-hour reporting period show eight new cases: two in Roanoke City, one in Roanoke County, two in Salem and three in Botetourt County. So far this week, the region is averaging less than ten new cases per day.
The health care systems based in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Southside Virginia collectively report 69 patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. That is a drop of ten from the week before — and easily the lowest number of the year. The region’s hospitalization numbers have now decreased by about 85% from the mid-January peak.
MAY 26: Here are updated numbers for the Near Southwest Region (which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and Salem VA facilities) as of today:
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 69
ICU patients: 26
Ventilator patients: 8
Hospitalized PUIs (patients under investigation awaiting results): 21
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MAY 19: Here are updated numbers for the Near Southwest Region (which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and Salem VA facilities) as of today:
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 79
ICU patients: 35
Ventilator patients: 15
Hospitalized PUIs (patients under investigation awaiting results): 18
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JANUARY 13: Here are updated numbers for the Near Southwest Region (which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and Salem VA facilities) as of today:
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 450
ICU patients: 96
Ventilator patients: 55
Hospitalized PUIs (patients under investigation awaiting results): 30
Carilion experts continue to monitor the level of COVID-19 spread in the immediate community surrounding each hospital. With the decrease in community spread, Carilion is updating hospital visitation restrictions to the green level for some facilities as early as Wednesday, May 26.
All hospitals have been at yellow level visitation restrictions since March of this year. The primary change when transitioning to green level visitation will be allowing two visitors per day for adults during an inpatient stay (previously, they were only allowed one in most cases). Other restrictions still remain to keep staff, patients and visitors safe.
Starting Wednesday, May 26, the following hospitals will move to green level visitation restrictions:
- Carilion Giles Community Hospital
- Carilion New River Valley Medical Center
- Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital
- Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
- Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital
Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital and Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital will transition to green level visitation restrictions starting Tuesday, June 1.