Identifying Vulnerable Populations at a University during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: Persons with high-risk for severe COVID-19 illness require special attention when considering university operations during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine the number of students who fall within a high-risk category according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines using linked databases. Participants: Students enrolled at a large public University and who accessed the student health center between 2016 and 2020. Methods: Clinical data were linked with both university student enrollment and disability services databases to provide a comprehensive, de-identified dataset of students at higher medical risk of severe COVID-19 illness. Results: 1902 unique students (14% of the student health center population) were identified as having one or more high-risk condition. Conclusions: Utilizing a large and longitudinally linked student database provides universities with valuable information to make critical administrative decisions about how best to accommodate high-risk students to reduce their medical risk when returning to in-person instruction.