Bradley University will not require students or employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before arriving on campus this fall.
President Stephen Standifird said several factors went into this decision, including the numbers of people getting vaccinated voluntarily and the resulting falling COVID-19 positivity rates.
In the weeks leading up to the end of the spring semester, Bradley's on-campus COVID-19 positivity rate was significantly lower than Peoria County's as a whole. Early in the fall 2020 semester, the university pivoted to an all-student quarantine to head off a surge in new cases.
Standifird said he personally is a vaccination advocate, and encouraged the campus community to get vaccinated. He said the university will host more vaccination clinics this fall.
To date, around 43% of Peoria County's population is considered fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 surveillance testing is still planned for the fall semester, but fully vaccinated people will be exempt.
