Get Vaccinated as Soon as Possible

In releasing its Covid-19 test results for March 4-11 – which included some great news – no new cases on our Prescott Campus this week! – Embry-Riddle again urged everyone to get their Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

Employees and students who have been fully vaccinated for more than two weeks after receiving the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can skip daily wellness checks by getting their All Clear badge.

Daytona Beach Campus – Vaccines

Earlier this week, we let faculty and staff at the Daytona Beach Campus know that Orange County is accepting appointments for vaccinations at the Orange County Convention Center site.

Log onto the Orange County vaccine registration site now. One of the categories listed as eligible for vaccination through Orange County is “educator or staff member at a school/college.”

In addition, nearby FEMA-run sites in Florida seem to be vaccinating higher education employees. These sites are open 7:00 am – 7:00 pm, seven days a week. No appointment is needed.

If you go to a FEMA site, have your Embry-Riddle ID and driver’s license or state-issued ID card in your hand as you approach the first check-in point. In case of questions, be aware that all higher education employees, from food-service personnel to professors, fall into several key groups – as teachers and/or essential workers at an institution with dual-enrollment programs for high school students.

Here are the two FEMA-run sites closest to the Daytona Beach Campus:

• Gateway Mall, 5200 Norwood Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32208
• Valencia College – West Campus, 1800 S. Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32811

Florida also has state-run vaccination sites, which operate under different rules.

This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he plans to lower the age of vaccine eligibility to 60+ on Monday, March 15.

• Use this handy Vaccine Finder website to search for appointments by zip code. (As of this writing, for example, six locations had vaccine appointments available within 10 miles of the 32114 zip code.)
• You can also log onto the MyVaccineFL.gov website to register for a vaccine when it is your turn.

Health Services on the Daytona Beach Campus would like to remind everyone that free flu shots are still available and always a good idea.

Prescott Campus – Vaccines

The vaccination situation in Yavapai County, Arizona, where Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus is located, has been more clear-cut.

Yavapai County has now vaccinated 98 percent of those in the Phase 1A category (healthcare workers, first responders, and long-term care facility staff and residents). The state has also vaccinated about 50 percent of those in the Phase 1B category, which includes educators (including university faculty), those over age 65 and others.

Yesterday, the first Embry-Riddle / Spectrum Healthcare Covid-19 vaccine clinic took place on our Prescott Campus!

Seventy-one Embry-Riddle employees received their first Moderna vaccination shot inside the Activity Center. This same group will return to another on-campus clinic for their second shot on April 8, four weeks after their first dose. Prescott Fire Department paramedic personnel were on hand to help with the clinic.

New CDC Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People

Life is slowly beginning to get back to normal, but please remember that, for the safety of everyone on Embry-Riddle’s campuses, our mandatory Covid-19 precautions have not changed. Whether or not you have been fully vaccinated, you must continue to wear a mask and maintain six feet of physical distancing.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week issued interim health recommendations for people who have been fully vaccinated for more than two weeks.

The new CDC guidelines are a reminder of the benefits of getting your Covid-19 vaccination – and a brighter future ahead for all of us.

• For now, however, the CDC says that fully vaccinated people should continue to take precautions in public, like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
• Fully vaccinated people should avoid medium and large-sized in-person gatherings and in public settings and continue to follow all guidance for these settings – including wearing a mask and physical distancing, avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, and washing hands frequently.
• For when you are back home – no longer at Embry-Riddle – the CDC says that fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing and can visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe Covid-19.

A complete list of guidelines, including CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations, can be found online here.

Latest Covid-19 Testing Results

Embry-Riddle’s latest results reflect the time-period March 4-11, 2021. The following numbers are cumulative, gathered since our testing began on June 22, 2020:

DAYTONA BEACH CAMPUS (since June 22, 2020)

• 6,431 individuals tested by Embry-Riddle (screening & contact type)
• 3,327 individuals tested by Embry-Riddle (sentinel type)
• 286 cases confirmed positive by Embry-Riddle
• 158 other cases confirmed positive through external testing
• 1 previously confirmed case

Total Cases Confirmed to Date: 445

Total Cases Recovered/Cleared to Resume Activities: 432

Total Cases Active/Under Isolation: 13

Total Vaccinated – Daytona Beach Campus: 118

NOTE: The numbers above are cumulative, compiled since June 22, 2020. On the Daytona Beach Campus, six cases of Covid-19 were newly discovered during this past week (March 4-11, 2021).

PRESCOTT CAMPUS (since June 22, 2020)

• 3,108 individuals tested by Embry-Riddle (screening & contact type)
• 868 individuals tested by Embry-Riddle (sentinel type)
• 45 cases confirmed positive by Embry-Riddle
• 81 other cases confirmed positive through external testing
• 5 previously confirmed cases

Total Cases Confirmed to Date: 131

Total Cases Recovered/Cleared to Resume Activities: 129

Total Cases Active/Under Isolation: 2

Total Vaccinated – Prescott Campus: 206

NOTE: The numbers above are cumulative, compiled since June 22, 2020. On the Prescott Campus, no new cases of Covid-19 were discovered during this past week (March 4-11, 2021).

WORLDWIDE CAMPUS (since June 22, 2020)

• 3 cases confirmed positive through external testing
• 3 previously confirmed cases

Total Cases Confirmed to Date: 6

Total Cases Recovered/Cleared to Resume Activities: 6

Total Cases Active/Under Isolation: 0

Only confirmed (not suspected) cases are reported. All confirmed cases are fully disclosed to the university community as well as all appropriate health authorities. Embry-Riddle’s Covid-19 test results are released every Friday. They are posted to our Latest Testing Results online site.

Visit Embry-Riddle’s Covid-19 page for further information about the university’s health precautions and safety requirements.