About 80% of University Park students are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to findings published by Penn State late Monday night.

The university’s latest statistics say more than 86% of students living on campus this year have already submitted proof of vaccination. About 78% of off-campus students submitted proof of vaccination, too.

Across the board, about 83% of full-time University Park employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Penn State. Those numbers boil down to 98% of administrators, 91% of academic personnel (like instructors, researchers, and faculty), and 79% of non-union staff.

Penn State’s submitted proof of vaccination rates sit well above the average in Centre County, where 57% of adults are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“I’m grateful to all of our students, faculty and staff who have already been vaccinated and shared their status with the University and all of those who are doing the right things to help slow transmission,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a release. “We believe our multi-pronged approach of incentivizing vaccines, indoor masking and testing plan will continue to be, an effective strategy at mitigating this virus.”  

Over the summer, Penn State asked students and employees about their vaccination statuses through a few non-scientific surveys that likely suffered from self-selection bias. These reported figures reflect rates of those who’ve uploaded proof of vaccination to Penn State’s online portals.

Students can submit proof of vaccination through myUHS. Employees, meanwhile, should use Salesforce Health Cloud.

To date, Penn State has shied away from full-on COVID-19 vaccine requirements, opting to only incentivize and encourage them. Full FDA approval of Pfizer’s vaccine won’t change that, according to a university spokesperson.

Those who haven’t submitted proof of vaccination to the university are required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing this fall. Punishments for noncompliance include conduct referrals, suspensions, and bans from campus events, including football games.

Students still in need of a COVID-19 vaccine can head to University Health Services’ Student Health Center from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Friday for free vaccine clinics.