Auburn University has reported its lowest number of COVID-19 cases since students returned for the spring semester in January.
A total of 12 cases were reported during the week of Feb. 15-21. This is the third-lowest report since campus reopened in August. The University reported 32 cases during the previous week of Feb. 8-14.
During the week of Feb. 15-21, Auburn's sentinel testing program conducted 567 COVID-19 tests with one returning a positive result, or a positivity rate of 0.2%. Sentinel testing positivity rate was the same the week prior with only one positive test, though only 550 tests performed.
In a weekly update video, Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic, said the "trend is really good" in reference to the most weeks, with COVID cases on campus as the spring semester passes 51 days.
"Our numbers ... [are] all down," Kam said. "That is not specific to Auburn, that is across the state and very much across the country. We are in a good situation now, but this is not time to stop doing what we need to be doing as far as mitigating the transmission ... of the virus."
Kam said it is unknown when campus may reach herd immunity since there is no true number on how many people have contracted COVID-19, but that the University is likely not close at this time. He said this number would need to be combined with the number of vaccinated people to gauge herd immunity.
"Right now the target for herd immunity is going to be up in the 85% range; part of that is because of the variants," Kam said. "We're probably well above the 35% [range]."
Kam does not expect herd immunity to be reached by late spring as COVID-19 is still very contagious. He said he expects a drop in cases because of increased vaccinations, warmer weather and a lack of holidays. He did note there was little seasonality with COVID transmission, however.
"Even though I've read and seen some opinion pieces on the possibility of herd immunity being achieved by the spring, I don't buy it," he said. "We're going to be wearing masks all through 2021 because this is a respiratory virus."
Looking at vaccines, Kam said there have been issues receiving enough doses in Alabama and Lee County. The University administered all of its initial 7,000 vaccines by Feb. 18, with 3,300 second doses given, according to Kam.
"We were very, very fortunate in cooperation with understanding from the Alabama Department of Public Health and working with East Alabama Medical Center to get a few hundred doses that we can use for second doses," Kam said. "Those people who are eligible for it and would have been eligible last Saturday or before have already been invited and will get immunized on Tuesday."
For those looking to get their second shot, Kam said studies on the Moderna vaccine concluded that a period of 28 days was considered the minimum time between doses. This data measured up to six weeks, he said.
"There appears to be no maximum date for the second dose," he said. "You should get it as soon as you can closest to the 28th day, but there's not a problem if you get it later than 28 days."
Kam said it takes approximately two weeks after receiving a second shot to have the greatest immune response to COVID-19. He referred to new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ADPH which say getting exposed within 90 days of receiving the second dose and not having any symptoms means one is likely immune and will not have to quarantine.
"More than likely, that 90-day window will get expanded as more scientific information comes out," Kam said. "If a person gets the COVID virus 90 days out, they tend to not get reinfected."
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Tim Nail, junior in journalism, is the campus editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
