UTD ECE Graduate Program

COVID-19 Campus Update
Comets,

I write to provide you an update on the status of our campus response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Our positive case counts and the positivity rates from our daily health check and proactive testing programs make it clear that the risk of COVID-19 transmission on our campus is much lower today than at the beginning of the fall semester. I want to thank you all for the actions you have taken, including mask wearing and vaccination, that have brought us to this much more positive state of affairs.

I believe our vaccination rates, in particular, deserve much of the credit for the current public health environment on campus, and a recent report from the Texas Department of State Health Services underscores the efficacy and importance of vaccinations in fighting COVID-19. The report finds that for the period of Jan. 15 to Oct. 1, 2021, unvaccinated individuals were 45 times more likely to have a COVID-19 infection than fully vaccinated individuals and that unvaccinated individuals were 40 times more likely to die from COVID-19 associated causes than fully vaccinated individuals. These findings come from cases in Texas, not nationally, and starkly illustrate the increased risks of illness and death that the unvaccinated face compared to the fully vaccinated. The full report provides a great deal of additional detail, including infection and death rates by age groups, and I encourage those who remain skeptical of COVID-19 vaccinations to read it carefully.

Thank you again for the concern and care you have shown for one another throughout the pandemic. I look forward to a safe and healthy conclusion to our fall semester, and, as always, I thank you for being Comets United.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rafael Martín
Vice President and Chief of Staff

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