Nearly 85% of the 15,354 LSU students who have completed entry verification reported being either partially or fully vaccinated, LSU announced Wednesday. 

About half of the roughly 34,000 students who will be on campus this fall have completed the entry process.

“The deadline for them submitting is prior to them arriving on campus,” LSU media relations director Ernie Ballard said. “There are a number of ways, depending on if a student lives on campus or off, that the university will reach out to make sure they are in compliance.”

Of students living on campus, 75% of the 6,860 who have completed entry protocols reported being partially or fully vaccinated. About 90% of the 3,180 students in Greek Life who completed entry protocols reported being partially or fully vaccinated. 

LSU also completed its first round of wastewater testing for the fall at sites around campus and found no detectable traces or very low amounts of the virus.

Additional testing will continue as more students arrive on campus this week.

Students must submit either a proof of COVID-19 vaccination, negative COVID-19 test taken within five days of arriving on campus or proof of having COVID in the last 90 days, according to the fall 2021 protocols. 

Only students who have a presence on campus are required to complete this process.

President Tate announced in an email Thursday that the University will mandate the COVID-19 vaccine once it is fully authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Until then, it is encouraged but not required. The university expects the FDA to approve the vaccine in the coming weeks. 

This brief will be updated as more information becomes available.