As the U.S. braces for the possibility of a winter surge in COVID-19 cases, some colleges and universities are requiring their students to receive a new bivalent booster shot.
These schools include Harvard, Tufts and Wellesley College in Massachusetts; Yale University in Connecticut; and Fordham University in New York City.
Institutions of higher education say they want to help avoid high transmission in the spring semester by being proactive with the latest COVID booster, which prevents ancestral strains of the virus and Omicron BA.4 /5 variant.
Michael Jordan, MD, MPH, Occupational Health Services and Executive Medical Director of University Infection Control, health director at Tufts University, told MedPage Today , the institution’s requirement for all eligible faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated with a bivalent booster “consistent with the University’s current COVID-19 vaccine policy and in compliance with the CDC guidelines and based on sound public health principles. Signals that cases are beginning to increase across the US, including some county chusetts in Massa.”
“Updated (bivalent) boost The device will provide protection to our students, faculty and staff against two Omicron subvariants of the major strains currently circulating,” he said.
Jordan It added that the school’s goal is “to keep our entire community healthy and safe from widespread, serious infection, including those who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated for religious or medical reasons.”
Wellesley College had no representatives to comment, but Dr. Sheilah Horton, Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Students, outlined its requirements and their reasoning in a letter to students dated 11 October. Horton described the requirement as “a critical step in ensuring we avoid an outbreak early in the spring semester.” The university president told MedPage Today in an email that bivalent booster requirement is not necessary a new one.
“Since We have been requiring a booster since it was first introduced and have been using the CDC’s most recent definition as a requirement since December 2021,” Howe said.
It is worth noting that according to Inside Higher Ed .
also seems to be very Few other agencies have developed such a requirement.
Anita Barkin, PhD, MSN, NP-C, co-chair of the American College Health Association (ACHA) COVID-19 Task Force, told MedPage Today , which, according to anecdotes, has yet to see a general increase in requests for enhancers from colleges and universities across the country.
In some cases, this may be the result of state laws that differ in their COVID vaccine requirements on college campuses, she noted.
Barkin said that if my institution does require students and faculty to be vaccinated with bivalent boosters, their rationale should be clearly communicated.
“The American College Health Association has been very clear that we support vaccinations, initial series and boosters,” Barkin said. The main reason they do this is “to protect our most vulnerable students and staff.”
When asked about students who may have recently recovered from COVID-19, Barkin noted, When it comes to vaccination policies, there are usually exemptions — such as medical or religious exemptions. So there should be some flexibility in allowing students to delay vaccination or booster immunizations after a documented infection, she said.
Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today in January 2021 as a Corporate and Investigative Writer. She covers the healthcare industry, life sciences, and legal practice in New York City.
