Duke University Requires Students & Employees to Provide Proof of COVID-19 Booster Shot

All students and employees at Duke University have been required to receive their booster shots during January and provide documentation by Feb. 1 or 28 days after they are eligible, due to the spread of the Omicron variant among the Durham community.

“Effective immediately, Duke University, Duke University Health System and the Private Diagnostic Clinic will require all students and employees to provide proof of receiving the COVID-19 booster shot in January or as soon as they are eligible under CDC and state guidelines,” Provost and Jo Rae Wright University Professor, Sally Kornbluth, and Vice President, Administration Kyle Cavanaugh wrote in a message to Duke’s community.

The university stressed that employees who do not comply with the booster requirement will be placed on administrative leave. If the latter do not manage to get the booster shot within seven days of their leave, their contracts will be terminated, Erudera.com reports.

In a statement, the university also announced that it has moved to online learning until January 18, 2022.

“All undergraduate, graduate, and professional school classes will now be remote until Tuesday, January 18 instead of January 10 as earlier announced. During this time, no hybrid or in-person classes will be permitted”, Duke University has noted.

While encouraging its community to get their booster shots once eligible and submit proof of vaccination, university leaders pointed out that as of December 20, over 20,000 employees and almost 4,000 students at Duke University have already received COVID-19 booster shots.

Meanwhile, as per students who cannot receive their booster shots before returning to campus after winter break, the university will offer other additional opportunities during January.

“These steps will help limit a potential outbreak on our campus and in our community and protect those most vulnerable to this virus,” Kornbluth and Cavanaugh added.

According to a statement, residence halls have opened as of January 2; however, the university encouraged students to delay their return to campus between January 3 and January 18, if possible, and allow the university officials to safely manage COVID-19 among students and other members of the Duke community.

Until January 18, all on-campus all food on campus will be grab-and-go, while indoor dining will not be permitted during this time. 

Duke University has imposed this requirement following the increase in the number of COVID-19 in North Carolina. On Thursday, North Carolina State reported the highest increase in daily COVID-19 cases ever, a 60 percent increase compared to a day earlier.