Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Coronavirus
- Return to campus plan
- COVID Challenge Response Team
- Reporting
- Accommodations
- CARES Act
- CRRSAA Grant
- ARP Grant
- Safe health practices in response to the coronavirus pandemic
- Quarantine and isolation protocol
- LDH Institutional Reporting
- Vaccination
- HEERF Reports
- CARES Act 30-day report
- CARES Act 45-day report
- CARES Act 45-day report – 2
- CARES Act 45-day report – 3
- CARES Act 45-day report – 4
- CARES Act final report
- CARES Act institutional report – 30 Sept 20
- CARES Act Institutional Report – 31 Dec 20
- CARES Act institutional report – 31 March 21
- HEERF Institutional Report – 31 March 21
- HEERF Institutional Report – 30 June 21
- HEERF Institutional Report – 30 Sept 21
- HEERF Institutional Report – 30 Sept 21 – revised
- HEERF Institutional Report – 31 Dec 21
- HEERF Student Report – 31 Mar 21
- HEERF Student Report – 30 Jun 21
- HEERF Student Report – 30 Sept 21
- HEERF Student Report – 31 Dec 21
Campus Update – FDA Vaccination Approval
August 23rd, 2021
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people age 16 and over. Since December 2020, the Pfizer vaccine has been available through Emergency Use Authorization, and more than 200 million doses have been administered in the U.S. alone.
As I explained in my Aug. 13 communication, the University of Louisiana System had previously requested that the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), upon full approval by the FDA, add COVID-19 to the schedule of required immunizations for students at Louisiana Tech University and other UL System institutions. LDH granted this request.
Given today’s FDA approval, COVID-19 is now on the schedule of required immunizations for college students in Louisiana. Accordingly, I encourage all of our students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible.
The practical application is no different than the process students go through to comply with our immunization policy upon their initial enrollment. Under current state law, the requirement is as follows:
Students must provide documentation of immunization against COVID-19 prior to the next registration period. Alternatively, students may provide one of the following: 1) documentation from a physician of medical contraindication for the vaccine, or 2) a written dissent for taking the vaccine.
The prevailing science tells us our return to normalcy depends on minimizing the impact of COVID-19 in our communities.
The available vaccines help to prevent infection — lessening the spread of the virus, and provide remarkable protection against severe disease — reducing the strain on our healthcare infrastructure. To date, hundreds of millions of doses of the current COVID-19 vaccines have been administered and have proven to be safe and effective.
Instructions on submitting vaccination information will be sent to students soon. Students will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide physician documentation or a written dissent to register for future quarters.
I strongly encourage all students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible. Currently, students who get vaccinated at a participating location are eligible for a $100 gift card through the Louisiana Department of Health and are also eligible for Louisiana Tech incentives in the Get Your Shot to Win Big program.
For additional questions, please contact Frank Bennett by email (frank@latech.edu) or by phone (318.257.4784).
Les Guice