A total of 78 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Auburn’s campuses this week, marking a slight decrease from last week’s 113.
All but one of the reported cases came from Auburn’s main campus for the week ending Jan. 24, while the other case was reported at the Auburn University Airport.
Participation in sentinel testing, the University’s system of tracking the spread of the coronavirus among the campus community via random selection for testing, increased this week, while the percent of tests returning a positive result decreased. Of 402 sentinel tests, two returned a positive result.
Dr. Fred Kam, director of the AU Medical Clinic, said that participation in sentinel testing still needs to be higher.
“We really need to be more than doubling [participation in sentinel testing], and the only way this is going to happen is if people take the opportunity and do your part,” Kam said.
As of Jan. 22, the University has received 7000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and has administered 3967 of them. Three quarters of the vaccines the University has received are being used as first doses, and Kam is hopeful that more doses will come in the future that can be used as second doses.
“Candidly, I don’t think sitting on the vaccine for more than two weeks waiting to give second doses was in the best interest of Auburn,” Kam said, explaining the decision to focus on administering first doses.
Kam encouraged all students and faculty to get the vaccine if they are able to.
“We expect that the general healthy student who is interested in getting the vaccine, you will be in phase two, and phase two will be determined by how quickly and how much vaccine we get,” Kam said. “If you had to push me on a date, I’d say probably somewhere along the third week of February.”
An average of seven students were in isolation housing and an average of 11 were in quarantine housing during the week ending Jan. 24. Both of these represent an increase from the week ending Jan. 17.
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Evan Mealins, senior in philosophy and economics, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
