BREAKING: Cornell Requires Boosters

Cornell University announced that it will require all students, faculty, and staff to get the COVID-19 booster shot for spring semester.

In an email to the Cornell community, Provost Michael Kotlikoff, Vice President Mary Opperman, and Vice President Ryan Lombardi addressed preparations for the Spring 2022 semester. “Scenario planning is evolving quickly due to the Omicron variant, and we are focused on how we can protect our community, and the greater Ithaca community, from serious illness related to the virus,” they explained.

Furthermore, university leadership said, “We must do all we can to minimize this spread and protect the most vulnerable among us from serious illness and hospitalization.” Data from the Tompkins County Health Department shows that, while there has been a nearly 2,400 increase in active cases, hospitalizations have grown by just 14, since the beginning of December.

Preliminary findings have also shown that Omicron may be less severe than previous variants. Researchers in South Africa found that the risk of hospitalization for adults dropped 30% during the early stages of the Omicron outbreak. Additionally, fewer patients required supplemental oxygen or ventilators.

Despite this, university officials announced that, since Omicron is more transmissible, the university will “require all students, faculty, and staff to have a COVID-19 vaccine and booster as part of comprehensive vaccination against this virus. The booster requirement must be met by January 31, or 30 days after you become eligible.” The original email did not say whether the university will allow individuals to seek exemptions from this requirement.

This email comes in the wake of Cornell University entering “code red” due to a massive on-campus outbreak. 97% of the campus population has been fully vaccinated, according to Cornell’s COVID-19 dashboard.

UPDATE – December 28, 2021: A previous version of the article said that it was unclear whether the university will allow individuals to seek any exemptions from the COVID-19 booster shot requirement. CornellHealth’s COVID-19 vaccination webpage has a section titled “Medical exemptions,” which outlines steps for individuals who believe that they “have a medical contraindication to receiving the booster” to upload their medical exemption request documentation.