RPS: 65 percent of eligible students, 88 percent of staff are fully vaccinated

Nearly two-thirds of eligible students in Rochester Public Schools are fully vaccinated, according to data released Thursday by the district.

Additionally, 88 percent of staff have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, the district reported.

The de-identified data was collected by RPS through the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC). The district says it will use the information to better assess risk while making decisions about quarantine protocols and vaccine requirements for staff.

“Making decisions based on actual, or as close to actual, data rather than perceived data is critical to our strategies going forward,” said interim Superintendent Kent Pekel.

The data released by RPS shows varying degrees of vaccination across district buildings. At schools such as Lincoln and Friedell, the vaccination rate for kids 12+ is around 80 percent, more than 20 percentage points higher than Willow Creek and John Adams. The Rochester Alternative Learning Center has the lowest vaccination rate at 33 percent.

Graphic via RPS

The release of the data comes amid an uptick in new cases across the district. As of Monday, there were 173 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in RPS this year, including 92 new cases last week. At least 858 students and four staff have been directed to quarantine since the start of the school year.

According to the district, 82.6 percent of positive Covid-19 cases have come from individuals who have not received a vaccine.

“Being vaccinated is a big decision a student, parent, or individual must make,” said Pekel. “But it is a shared responsibility between the individuals and schools because we know the best path out of this pandemic is vaccination.”

In addition to encouraging vaccination, the district has also implemented masking, social distancing, contact tracing, and the quarantining of close contacts from indoor classroom settings among those unvaccinated.

Cover photo licensed via Getty