Eleven of 12 UW System schools participating in the “Vax Up! 70 for 70” COVID-19 vaccination campaign reached the target of having 70% of their student body vaccinated.
The UW System started the campaign in July to promote student vaccinations. 70 vaccinated students were also entered for the chance to win a $7,000 scholarship at each participating campus that reached a 70% student vaccination rate. Student governments that assisted campuses in reaching the vaccination target were eligible to receive up to $5,000.
“I have never favored a UW System vaccination mandate for students or employees,” said Thompson at Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting. “As our high vaccination rates and low prevalence rates across the System clearly show, our approach to encourage and provide the vaccine has worked incredibly well.”
Of the 12 schools, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville was the only university that did not reach 70%, however, according to a press release, they still had double the vaccination rate of similar demographic groups in the same county.
UW-Platteville’s COVID-19 dashboard highlighted that 55% of the student body was vaccinated as of Nov. 8.
UW-Madison announced shortly after the campaign was announced that they would not participate as they had already surpassed the 70% goal. As of Nov. 8, 94.6% of UW-Madison’s student body is fully vaccinated.
The campaign ended on Oct. 31, but five participating campuses reached the threshold by mid-September. As of Sept. 24, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Milwaukee, UW-La Crosse UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh all reported vaccination rates above 70%. UW-Stout reached the goal on Sept. 28.
Both UW-Parkside and UW-Superior reached the threshold in late October, whereas UW-Green Bay and UW-Stevens Point reached the threshold just days before. UW-River Falls hit a 70% rate just a week earlier.
“The UW System has really proved to be a state leader in fighting this pandemic, from our aggressive testing protocols to our campus and public vaccination clinics and now for this ‘70 for 70’ campaign,” Thompson stated