At its morning work session, the WSU Board of Regents heard a presentation regarding the school’s ongoing efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.
Joel Schwartzkopf, executive director of Cougar Health Services, noted that nearly 75 percent of students on the Pullman campus have been vaccinated so far — including more than 82 percent of those who live in campus housing. Overall, more than 83 percent of Pullman students currently comply with WSU’s vaccination requirement, he said, meaning they’ve either been fully vaccinated or have received a medical or religious exemption. Of those, more than 94 percent chose to get vaccinated.
Given the high compliance rate among students, he said, there have only been 121 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the Pullman campus since the end of August. That compares with 526 cases for the same period a year ago.
Overshadowing the successes are the actions of WSU coach Nick Rolovich, who initially declined to get the vaccine. He subsequently indicated he would comply with a statewide vaccination mandate, but declined to say whether that meant he would get vaccinated or that he’d request a medical or religious exemption. Regardless, the deadline for complying with the mandate is Oct. 18. (Lewiston Tribune)
