Dear Truman Community,
Here’s a ten-minute summary video of the COVID-19 numbers and our situation as we start classes and a new academic year. We were happy to welcome student Will Hendrickson to our video group this week for his take on how things are going. (Sorry that the auto-captions did not work. We’re working on a solution)
We have eight active cases on campus, 6 student cases and 2 from the faculty/staff.
Remember our official numbers are updated each Tuesday here:
https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/reporting/
(the recovered number is a bit funny, since new students have arrived and others have graduated, and we probably do not know about all student cases that occurred over the summer).
That’s a good start to the year, given the “Red” numbers in the region, but we do worry about “bloom,” where those students nearest the student (roommates, partners, etc.) test positive, but we hope to clamp it down before it spreads too far.
Masking on campus is not just required, but it’s also just a good idea. Given the numbers off-campus, we definitely recommend wearing a mask to the grocery store or anywhere else you might need to go where you’ll be around large groups without distance.
Of course, the positive news is that the FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, meaning that it has now fully demonstrated that it is both safe and effective. We recommend that anyone who had been worried about the earlier emergency authorization will now consider getting the vaccine as soon as they can..
We expect a survey to be conducted next week to ask about vaccination status and opinions about COVID and the University’s response. Please consider completing it when you get that invitation. As new information emerges, the university will consider our ongoing COVID strategies, with the next evaluation happening in mid-September. We hope to have good responses to our survey before that, to be used in concert with our case counts and other emerging trends and announcements.
There is an on-campus vaccine clinic planned for next Friday, September 3. You can also go most anytime to HyVee, Walgreens and other local pharmacies to get your shot.
Although we aim these updates at our campus community, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via their COVID Blackboard page and sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page here:
https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/
If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu
-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics
Related Links:
Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group Videos and Emails
Coronavirus Updates and Resources Website
Recent Campus Communications: