The University of Kentucky is not planning on requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students in the fall. For now, school officials say they're pleased with the progress on vaccinations.
With more colleges and universities across the country instituting or eying vaccination mandates for incoming students, UK spokesman Jay Blanton says Kentucky's largest university isn't planning on going that route for the time being.
"That's not where we are at this time," he tells WUKY. "We're going to continue to monitor. As we've been throughout this process, we've always shown a willingness to pivot, do what we need to do to keep people healthy and safe... That's going to remain our top priority."
Blanton says nearly 93 percent of the school's frontline healthcare workers are vaccinated, 80 percent of faculty and 70 percent of staff have received at least one shot, and between 55 and 60 percent of students are in the process of being vaccinated.
The goal when students return is to have a campus that more closely resembles fall 2019 than fall 2020. The school envisions "a lot more in-person classes, more students living on campus, more students, faculty, and staff able to return to much more normal sorts of operations and interactions."
Vaccination requirements at colleges are not a new development. NPR reports a survey of 100 four-year colleges in all 50 states found that the vast majority — around 87 percent — required at least one, the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.
