Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu

Penn State University is taking the ongoing pandemic very seriously, and moving forward on consequences for students who have refused to comply with the schools testing guidelines. 

PSU provides students with a variety of important resources regarding COVID-19 precautions such as free walk-up testing for students, regular vaccine clinics, enforced COVID-19 testing for non-vaccinated individuals, and informational resources in a wide variety of forms.

As of September 27th, all students who have not been in compliance with testing regulations will be suspended from classes and removed from housing.

“On Monday [September 27th], letters will go out to these students informing them of their interim suspension. If before then, however, they upload their vaccination status or start testing, they will avoid suspension, but will still have a student conduct hearing,” said Dr. Corty.

All Penn State students who have not been in compliance have received numerous emails explaining that testing is necessary until a student uploads their COVID-19 vaccination status, and that there would be these consequences for those students who refuse.

Student suspension will occur for any student who misses three of their required COVID-19 tests. This is a change in policy, as suspension previously only occurred if the three missed tests were consecutive.

Dr. Ken Miller emailed students earlier this month saying, “Please, don’t risk interrupting your college education. Read and respond to emails from PSUCOVIDtesting@psu.edu which detail the steps to take to complete the testing.”

Any student who needs to receive a test may pick it up at the RUB desk in the Reed Union Building, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with reduced hours on the weekends. 

Additional urgent information about COVID-19 for students includes the Department of State’srecent announcement that passport processing times are taking on average 12-18 weeks, not including shipping time. Any student applying to study abroad in the spring is urged by Education Abroad to immediately apply for a passport through the expedited process. 

Matthew Ferrari, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State is just one of the many Penn State Professors speaking about the virus and providing valuable information for students. Ferrari spoke out specifically about the safety of the vaccine, and whether or not it should be trusted. 

“….You receive chemotherapy for your cancer; and beyond disease, you eat foods every day that have been crafted using laboratory-produced ingredients,” said Ferrari,  “Whether you’ve thought about it or not, you put your trust in science every single day. The COVID-19 vaccines are no different. They are the product of the most objective process that humanity is capable of — the scientific method — and they can save your life.”

Many people are concerned about whether or not they can still get the virus after receiving their vaccination. The answer is yes, however, it is significantly less likely for a vaccinated individual to contract the viru in an area with a high vaccination rate. 

“The CDC’s latest report shows that unvaccinated people with COVID-19 are nearly 30 times more likely to end up hospitalized as vaccinated people with a breakthrough infection,” said Elizabeth McGraw, head of the Department of Biology, Penn State. “The take-home message from this study is that vaccines are highly protective against serious illness. If you are vaccinated and wearing a mask inside public places, as the CDC recommends, you should feel safe and also confident that you are protecting those around you.”

Penn State Behrend had a 70.7 percent vaccination rate as of September 15th, 2021. There were 2,408 fully vaccinated students, and 996 with an unknown vaccination status. Of the 2408 vaccinated students, 974 are residential students on campus, and 1,434 non-residential students. The faculty vaccination rate at Behrend was 81.5 percent at the time, totaling 481 fully vaccinated employees and 109 with an unknown vaccination status. 

Penn State encourages students to get vaccinated, and to maintain all covid-19 guidelines and requirements.