Syracuse University to Require COVID-19 Booster Shot Before Spring Term

More than 20 colleges across the United States require COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all eligible students, faculty, and staff before the spring term, due to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, among them Syracuse University in New York.

“Syracuse University will require all eligible students, faculty and staff who routinely access any Syracuse University campus location or facility (to include Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles and all study abroad locations) to receive a booster shot prior to the start of the spring semester, or as soon as they become eligible,” Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Michael Haynie, said in a statement.

The statement noted that eligible individuals who can receive booster shots are those who:

• received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago.
• received the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

In addition to this measure, the university has also required students to perform COVID-19 tests upon their return to campus due to the Omicron variant, meaning that all students, including undergraduates, graduates, and law, regardless of their vaccination status, will need to participate in the on-campus return to campus testing.

It also announced that it will extend the current mask mandate, Erudera.com reports.

Haynie further pointed out that individuals who have earlier received other vaccines approved by World Health Organization should receive a Pfizer booster dose if they received their first vaccine doses at least six months ago, complying with the CDC guidance.

Students who receive a booster should upload the proof via the student Patient Portal. As Syracuse University is considered a federal contractor, it should also comply with Biden’s vaccine mandate, so all the university’s employees are required to be vaccinated by January 18, 2022.

Syracuse University was among the first academic institutions in the United States to introduce vaccination requirements in April 2020.

Other universities that are requiring booster shots include:

• Boston University
• the University of Notre Dame
• the University of New Mexico

In addition to several academic institutions requiring COVID-19 booster shots, according to Erudera’s University Vaccine Requirement Checker, the majority of universities and colleges in the US and across the world require COVID-19 vaccines, including the following top universities worldwide:

• Harvard University – US
• Princeton University – US
• Stanford University – US
• University of Düsseldorf – Germany
• University of Stuttgart – Germany
• University of Rennes – France
• University of Padua – Italy
• IULM University of Milan – Italy
• César Ritz Colleges Switzerland – Switzerland
• University of Economics Freiburg – Switzerland
• University of Iceland – Iceland
• University of Akureyri – Iceland