More than 2,300 people have signed a petition calling for a COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the University of Kentucky.
University senators wrote the letter addressed to UK President Eli Capilouto and acting provost Robert DiPaola. The signatures came from students and faculty alike, as well as other community members.
“It is urgent that we adopt a vaccine mandate immediately,” reads the letter. “The community spread of COVID has reached critical levels in Kentucky.”
The petition comes after Kentucky’s reported COVID-19 cases, and hospitalizations both spiked at the end of August, with Aug. 26 seeing the second-highest number of reported cases since January.
“This is the most important issue that I have ever encountered in my 35 years at UK,” Prof. Jerry Woodward told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Woodward is a microbiology and immunology professor who studies vaccines, including those for COVID-19.
As of Sep. 2, 78.7% of UK’s community was fully vaccinated, a number recorded out of 30,000 students and 20,000 employees. Woodward maintains that the number needs to increase.
“If we raise the percentage of people who are vaccinated, we simply limit the number of people who are going to be spreading COVID-19,” Woodward specified.
Capilouto previously alluded to a vaccine mandate in a campus-wide email on Aug. 26, but no such mandate has been officially implemented. For now, vaccines are being encouraged with eligibility for scholarships, tickets to school sporting events, and other prizes.
“Our goal is to vaccinate as many people in our campus community as quickly as possible,” UK spokesperson Jay Blanton told the Herald-Leader. “We agree that vaccinations are the best tool – without question – against the virus.”
