Ball State Gives First Student Vaccination Numbers, Says Students Still Reporting Status
Ball State University’s president says more than 30 percent of students have certified they are vaccinated for COVID-19.
An interview with IPR is the first acknowledgement of student vaccination numbers. The school’s COVID dashboard does not include such data for students or staff.
Geoffrey Mearns says he expects that number to rise as it gets closer to the fall semester’s start on August 23.
“With students, they have longer to report when they’ve been vaccinated. So, we have several more weeks to report. But it’s clear from those numbers, we’ve got more work to do.”
Ball State is still not requiring vaccinations, like Indiana University. Instead, vaccinated students and staff will be free from wearing masks and surveillance testing.
“While we’re respecting the right to choose whether to be vaccinated, we want to make clear in the messages that go out next week that that choice has consequences.”
Read More: Holcomb Doesn’t Reimpose Statewide Restrictions Amid COVID-19 Surge
Mearns says despite new CDC data that recommends masks for everyone in K-12 classrooms, he wants to see the data the federal agency used before considering reinstituting a full mask mandate on the college campus.
Ball State President Mearns’ full interview with Morning Edition host Stan Sollars is available here.
