UI students: Bring back COVID-19 testing
A petition from the University of Idaho’s student government to bring COVID-19 testing back on campus garnered more than 350 signatures since it was posted Tuesday.
The Associated Students University of Idaho petition on Change.org follows a joint resolution passed by the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council and the Multicultural Greek Council asking administrators to provide free on-campus testing for students, faculty and staff.
“We’ve heard students say again and again they want testing back on campus,” ASUI President Kallyn Mai said. “Even if it’s just a clinic once or twice a week, whatever we can get is better than what we have now.”
Last year, the university partnered with Gritman Medical Center to use on-campus testing, in addition to surveillance testing and wastewater testing, to track the spread of the virus in various living groups. The tactics also proved useful at identifying potential outbreaks. Those measures have since been discontinued, according to UI Spokeswoman Jodi Walker.
She said shortages in the healthcare industry and the changing landscape of the pandemic have made it more difficult to secure resources.
“We need healthcare partners to provide that testing and it’s definitely been a challenge with our hospitals getting busier,” Walker said. “We are continuing to work with Gritman and public health to find ways to provide any sort of resources to our Vandal family, but at this point we’re unable to provide testing on campus.”
According to an update from Gritman Medical Center on Sept. 16, its hospitals and clinics in Moscow face a significant strain on staffing and resources.
“Our QuickCARE location, COVID-19 Drive-Through Testing Site and Emergency Department continue to see unusually high demand,” the update stated.
While the previous effort to bring testing on campus was described as “a Herculean effort,” it allowed UI to keep track of positive cases in people affiliated with the university. As UI President Scott Green noted in multiple communications last year, no cases were linked back to classrooms.
Without testing, ASUI Vice President Katie Hettinga says the number of infections on campus, many of which could be asymptomatic, is unknown.
According to Walker, students tested for the virus are not required to report their results back to the university. Because testing must be sought off-campus, the reporting process is voluntary.
“Some of the big worries we’ve heard from students is the lack of surveillance testing we had before,” Hettinga said. “There were no cases traced back to the classroom last year, but we don’t know anymore.”
Currently, an indoor mask mandate is in effect for students, faculty and staff. The university is also offering $50 to students willing to submit proof of vaccination and entering them into drawings for $1,000 and $5,000 tuition waivers.
More than 3,600 students have so far provided proof of vaccination against the virus, according to Walker.
“All of those pieces are still in place, but it’s putting a lot more of the responsibility on to faculty, staff and students to monitor their own health and get the help they need,” Walker said.
In a formal letter to university administration sent Wednesday, ASUI said it’s heard several accounts from students stating their refusal to get the vaccine, even when offered incentives to do so.
“While vaccines are a prominent, effective tool in fighting this virus, we have observed a large population of students who are not willing to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus,” the letter stated. “In order to combat the lack of vaccination on campus, we must provide other adequate resources to track the spread of the virus.”
Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.
