COVID-19 Update: 97 percent of students vaccinated

After another week, Carnegie Mellon’s positive cases among students, staff, and faculty decreased again. The week, starting Sept. 28 and ending Oct. 4, saw two cases among students living on-campus, three among students living off-campus, three among faculty and staff on-campus, and four among faculty and staff off-campus. This was lower than last week’s cases when there were 15 cases among students living on-campus alone. The decrease also reflects the number of cases dropping from the relatively high number of positive cases since the fall semester started. In September, Carnegie Mellon’s positive cases totaled 121, a pandemic-high for recorded cases at the university.

Additionally, 96 percent of the Carnegie Mellon population in Pittsburgh has been vaccinated, with 97 percent of students and 97 percent of faculty fully vaccinated. Carnegie Mellon reported that 1.97 percent of its Pittsburgh population has received vaccine exemptions.

Around Carnegie Mellon, Allegheny County’s COVID-19 caseload remained steady, with about 2,044 cases in the week beginning Sept. 26, compared to 2,093 the week before. The Allegheny County Council recently rejected a mask mandate that would have covered all public indoor gatherings.

Allegheny County Health Department’s September vaccination report estimated that 67 percent of eligible Allegheny County residents are fully vaccinated, and seven percent are partially vaccinated. Allegheny County’s vaccination rate is well above Pennsylvania’s vaccination rate as a whole. About 58 percent of Pennsylvania residents are fully vaccinated, with about six percent only partially vaccinated (Pennsylvania’s data excludes Philadelphia County).

According to the New York Times, Pennsylvania’s seven-day average of new cases per day was 5,253 on Oct. 10, up 15 percent from two weeks ago.