A total of 48,450 booster verifications have been submitted via MSUs online portal. However, this is a far cry from the numbers seen when the university’s original COVID-19 vaccination mandate was implemented at the start of fall semester.

In total, of the 63,217 students and faculty included in the Together We Will dashboard, 76.64% of have verified to have received a booster shot. 23.36% are currently reported to be un-boosted.

Of the 14,767 individuals who have either not received a booster or haven't submitted a verification form for their dose, 55.30% remain compliant with the university.

A little more than a quarter of the un-boosted, at 27.72%, have an approved exemption. Most approved exemptions from the fall semester carried over to the spring, so no action was needed on these individuals' parts.

A smaller contingent of exemption-seekers are still present. 2.57%, or 379 individuals, are still awaiting initial approval for their request. A majority of these, according to MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen, are either medical-related or for those whose classes are online-only.

In total, 0.45% of the un-boosted, or 67 individuals, are currently under appellate review for their previously denied exemption requests.

Another 4.65% of the total individuals, or about 2,940 individuals, are still ineligible to receive a booster shot due to the timing of their initial vaccination.

A large portion of those un-boosted, though, are non-compliant. 6,601 individuals, making up 44.7% of the un-boosted and 10.44% of the total, have not reported a booster shot or requested an exemption request.

Olsen said the university is motivated by the percentage of those who have received the booster shot but stresses that disciplinary action will be pursued for those who continue to not comply with the mandate.

"We're encouraged by the fact that such a high percentage of our students, faculty and staff have gotten their booster," Olsen said. "But we'll continue to refine and reinforce the expectations of the booster requirement going forward."

Additionally, Olsen emphasized that the university currently has a much higher vaccination and booster rate than the state of Michigan as a whole.

"The university's booster rate is more than double that of the state's booster rate at this point in time, so we have an incredibly safe campus community," Olsen said. "Thanks in part to the vaccination requirement that the university has, plus now this booster requirement layered on top of that."

Some questions were raised into the university's Early Detection Program, in which all unvaccinated individuals are required to participate.

In the week of Feb. 14, 2,293 tests were conducted by the program. However, according to university policy, all 4,093 individuals with approved vaccine exemptions should be completing tests weekly.

Olsen said that the university generally targets those who repeatedly do not submit a saliva sample — and those individuals will be recommended for administrative disciplinary action. He also noted that those who test positive are not required to submit a sample.

"Again, those who are non compliant with testing or the universities vaccination requirement are being referred for appropriate discipline," Olsen said.