Dean's Community Message

August 3, 2021

Dear College of Engineering Community,

Last week, the CDC announced updated public health recommendations for individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as updated masking guidance for children.

Those who are vaccinated can experience “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19, although they have less severe symptoms. For most strains of SARS-CoV-2, even if a vaccinated person becomes infected, they carry less viral load, meaning they are less likely to transmit the virus to others. However, new research on the Delta variant — which accounts for more than 80% of current COVID-19 cases in the U.S. — suggests that the strain is highly infectious and even vaccinated people can carry a high viral load and transmit the virus to their community.

The more people who remain unvaccinated, the more likely the virus will continue to mutate. The longer people remain unvaccinated, the more vulnerable those who cannot be vaccinated become. Centre County currently has a moderate level of transmission, but the number of new cases diagnosed are increasing every day. From May 19 to July 19, the number of cases diagnosed was under 10 every day. For the past 10 days, the average number of new cases has been in the double digits, with 13 diagnosed yesterday.

Please get vaccinated. It is the single best way to protect yourselves and each other, especially those who are not yet old enough or those who are unable to get vaccinated due to health reasons.

We have already lost millions. You can help bring an end to this.

In Pennsylvania, you can use this site to find where to get the vaccine. For those in Centre County, this site has information on local clinics. More information about where to find a vaccine and how to share you vaccination information with the University is available on Penn State’s Coronavirus Information website.

If you cannot find a vaccine site or have an issue preventing you from getting the vaccine, please reach out to me at dean@engr.psu.edu. I will do whatever I can to help.

Take care,

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering