Leaders of Dartmouth’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic say they are encouraged by the fact that no students or employees are known to have been hospitalized as a result of the virus, and that vaccination and booster-shot requirements seem to be helping the situation.

In a half-hour Community Conversations video on Wednesday afternoon, Interim Provost David Kotz ’86 and Executive Vice President Rick Mills were joined by physician Lisa V. Adams, MED ’90, a professor of medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine and associate dean for global health.

She explained the various stages of a pandemic and said Dartmouth’s vaccine requirements and masking policies are having a beneficial effect, with cases appearing to have peaked.

“We may be starting to turn that corner just about now, as New Hampshire is as well,” she said. “I think the fact that we have not had any serious adverse outcomes is very good news.”

Dartmouth’s distribution of KN95 masks is also helping mitigate the situation, she said.

Kotz noted there is a deadline Monday for all students and employees who are eligible to receive booster shots to provide evidence that they have done so, and also thanked community members for their adjustments, in the classroom and other workplaces, to help the community get through the pandemic.

Mills echoed a similar theme, saying, “It’s just a tough time for everybody … We will get through it. It’s just going to be a slog.”

Dartmouth is hosting a booster clinic on Monday that is open to students, faculty, and staff, as well as family members and housemates. Participants must be registered online through the Axiom Medical Vaccine Vault Portal. (See the Dartmouth Together COVID-19 website for more information on vaccinations and booster shots.)