The positivity rate of on-campus UF COVID-19 cases persists at a seven-day average of 1% for the fourth week in a row. And following the university’s mass vaccination of about 5,000 members of the campus community Monday, students have hope for a return to normalcy.
Since March 29, 15 UF employees and 126 students have tested positive for the virus at on-campus locations. In the seven days before that, 12 employees and 176 students tested positive.
As of Monday, the university has documented 9,632 total positive tests since it began keeping track last March. This semester, 2,422 UF individuals have tested positive. The seven-day average for positive results has remained at 1% since March 12.
On Monday, the first day of vaccine eligibility for people ages 16 and up in Florida, UF vaccinated 5,056 people. There are about 20,000 expected appointments scheduled for this week, said Dr. Michael Lauzardo, the director of the Screen, Test & Protect program.
The number of people in isolation reached a new high for the last two months with 567 people on Thursday. However, it fell to 510 on Monday. It peaked in the Spring semester at 1,286 Jan. 14 but has never reached that height again.
UF Health Shands Hospital had 11.92% adult ICU availability (31 beds) on Tuesday, and North Florida Regional Medical Center had 12.50% (six beds), according to the Agency for Health Care Administration of Florida.
A total of 87,419, or about 32% of county residents, have been vaccinated in Alachua County as of Tuesday, according to the Alachua County COVID-19 dashboard. But because the dashboard takes between 24 and 72 hours to correctly update vaccine counts, Monday’s mass vaccination event is not yet reflected in the dashboard, Paul Myers, the administrator for the FDOH in Alachua County, wrote in an email.
Contact Manny Rea at mrea@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @ReaManny.
Manny Rea is a journalism sophomore and the current health reporter for The Alligator. He worked as a copy editor in his freshman year before moving over to the Avenue in summer 2020. He likes to listen to dollar-bin records and read comics, and he is patiently waiting to go back to movies and concerts.
