N.C. A&T, NCCU Compete to Crush COVID-19

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 9, 2021) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and North Carolina Central University’s longtime rivalry will now include a battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Aggie-Eagle Crush COVID Competition, held July 1 to Sept. 17, will encourage faculty, staff and students to do their part by getting a COVID-19 vaccine to ensure the campuses are ready for a healthy fall 2021 semester. The campus with the most members vaccinated will be rewarded with a trophy and ultimate bragging rights at the Sept. 25 Aggie-Eagle football game at Truist Stadium on the N.C. A&T campus.

“The health, safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is of utmost importance to us. We continue to educate our campus community about the vaccine, and were among the first constituent universities in the UNC System to establish a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for the North Carolina A&T campus and surrounding community,” said A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “We will continue offering resources and are looking forward to a successful and healthy 2021-22 academic year.”

A&T and NCCU are among 16 University of North Carolina System campuses distributing vaccines to faculty, staff, students and members of the community. A&T opened its campus clinic in February in partnership with Cone Health and Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services. NCCU’s campus clinic began in March in partnership with the Durham County Department of Health and Human Services. To date, both campus clinics have administered more than 14,600 vaccinations combined.

“North Carolina Central University is proud to continue to do our part in the collective effort against COVID-19,” said NCCU Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye. “In the midst of the pandemic, our university stood strong in maintaining a 2.1% average positivity rate, which was well below the local and national average that continually soared prior to the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines.

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, North Carolina ranks 12th-lowest in the nation in the number of vaccines administered per capita. Less than half of North Carolinians eligible for a COVID-19 shot are fully vaccinated, despite the presence of more than 2.1 million doses waiting on shelves for residents to take.

For more information about the Aggie-Eagle Crush COVID Competition, please visit www.ncat.edu/crushcovid or www.nccu.edu/crushcovid.