Majority of students, staff and faculty fully vaccinated at University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa campus is quiet, Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The University of Ottawa says more than 90 per cent of faculty, staff and students are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the university implements a mandatory vaccination policy to step foot on campus.

Less than 30 staff and faculty members at uOttawa have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anyone who intends on visiting the uOttawa campus must be fully vaccinated. Students, staff and faculty with an approved accommodation or is partially vaccinated must undergo regular COVID-19 testing on campus. The policy began on Sept. 7 as students returned to campus for the start of the new school year.

The University of Ottawa says over 47,000 students, staff and faculty have verified their vaccination status using the COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration online tool.

"90 per cent of the individuals who completed the declaration, declared they are fully vaccinated (two doses); for faculty and staff, the percentage is at 96 per cent," said uOttawa in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"Requests for accommodations remain fairly low at less than 3%. Only 0.06% of faculty and staff members (so less that 30 individuals) who used our application system refuse to get vaccinated."

In a statement on Friday, the University of Ottawa said it was confident that the compliance rate will continue to increase since students have until Oct. 15 to be fully vaccinated.

"Our students, professors, staff members, and even visitors to campus, play a vital role in ensuring the health and safety of all members of our University community, and of Ottawa residents in general," said Jacques Frémont, uOttawa President and Vice Chancellor. "We are very proud of the way our whole community has answered the call to protect each other. This clearly shows that we are here for one another."

At Algonquin College, over 9,500 faculty, staff and students have registered their vaccination status with the college's Mobile Safety App. As of Wednesday, over 90 per cent of respondents are either fully or partially vaccinated.

Algonquin College says the deadline for college community members to be fully vaccinated is Oct. 30.   Students and staff who are not fully vaccinated must undergo regular rapid antigen testing to be able to access campuses and in-person activities.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca reached out to Carleton University for information about vaccination rates.

Western University in London, Ont. reported last week that 98 per cent of students on campus, 99 per cent of students living in residence and 97 per cent of staff and faculty are fully vaccinated.