Highly Vaccinated Vermont College Goes Back to Remote Learning Due to New Cases

Despite a vaccination rate of 99 percent, a Vermont liberal arts college has reverted back to remote learning due to 50 cases of coronavirus.

On Thursday, Middlebury College in Vermont announced that final exams will be administered remotely after 49 students and 1 employee tested positive for the coronavirus despite an extraordinarily high vaccination rate of 99 percent out of a population of 2,858 students, according to Fox News.

Students were encouraged to “leave campus and travel to their break destination early.” Students who remained on campus were required to follow strict mitigation measures:

While many of the new cases we have identified appear to be connected, occurring in clusters among people who socialize together, an increase in the prevalence of COVID-19 increases the likelihood of broader community transmission. Given the timing of this increase, coinciding with the end of the fall semester and imminent student departures, we have decided to move immediately to remote instruction and postpone in-person events. This includes classes that meet on Friday, December 10, final exams, and all formal and informal events, including athletics competitions and performing arts.

With more than 99 percent of students fully vaccinated and many already receiving booster doses, the risk of adverse health outcomes from the Delta variant is low. Rising student cases that require isolation, ongoing transmission, and the few days remaining in the semester warrant the change to remote instruction.

COVID-19 on Campus and Move to Remote Instruction

Students able to leave campus and travel to their break destination early should do so. Students who must remain on campus for travel reasons may stay and will need to follow the mitigation measures below. https://t.co/JJLYu6uLbt

— Middlebury College (@Middlebury) December 10, 2021

Asymptomatic students will not be required to wait on campus for their test results and will be allowed to go home until they are emailed their test results. Symptomatic students must stay on campus until they produce a negative test. A strict mask mandate policy will be enforced on campus while only grab-and-go meals will be permitted.

“Rising student cases that require isolation, ongoing transmission and the few days remaining in the semester warrant the change to remote instruction,” school officials said.

A recent study from UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank showed that students suffered tremendously due to remote learning during the pandemic.

“We fear that in 15 years we’re going to write a lot of academic papers to identify and understand the negative premium or discount in terms of welfare, productivity and income just for belonging to the generation between 5 and 18 in 2021,” Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Global Director for Education, told the Washington Post.