Updates

Navid Ghaffarzadegan's COVID-19 simulation models have been predicting how human behaviors impact the spread of the virus during the pandemic. His work now shows vaccinated Hokies to be the key to safely returning to much of the in-person Virginia Tech experience.

If there is not continued progress in the vaccination rate of the Virginia Tech community, the university will require additional mitigation strategies and operations likely will be impacted.

"A lot of people in the younger population tend to feel that COVID may not be quite as risky for them, " said Noelle Bissell, health director for the New River Health District. "But that’s not 100 percent true."

Efforts to reduce the on-campus population of students and employees support the overall public health goal of limiting the potential spread of the virus. The reduced on-campus population reduces the public health risk for the entire community – including those working on campus and working remotely.

We have received many questions from employees about their options should the coronavirus spread more broadly across Virginia, especially with Friday’s announcement from Gov. Ralph Northam ordering all K-12 schools in the commonwealth to close for a minimum of two weeks.

It’s in times like these past few days that the honor of being a Hokie feels especially amplified. With uncertainty and anxiety coming from every direction, the spirit of generosity from our students and their families has been humbling.