Wesleyan University Among First to Require COVID-19 Booster Shots

Wesleyan University in Connecticut is among the first colleges to require COVID-19 booster shots for all students, staff, and faculty who will be present on campus during spring 2022 as part of the university’s vaccine mandate policy, the university has announced.

Wesleyan has held the first booster vaccine clinic on campus this week and will also hold booster clinics on December 8 from 11 am to 5 pm for students who cannot receive a booster at their local pharmacy. Nevertheless, the university has pointed out that boosters are commonly available at most pharmacies, Erudera.com reports.

“Most importantly, since we have the protection of vaccinations, the COVID-19 cases we’ve had thus far have been asymptomatic or mild. Vaccine booster shots are now available, and they offer an important additional layer of protection,” the university has noted.

According to a statement by the President of Wesleyan University, Michael Roth, the vast majority of students, faculty, and staff are now eligible to get their booster. President said that they should upload a copy of their updated vaccination card to university’s portal, reporting the date when they received the booster shot by January 14, 2022.

The President Michael Roth, said that there isn’t a good reason to hesitate to receive a booster.

“Some people don’t like to be first. But in this case, being first for public health doesn’t seem to be a particularly risky place to be,” Roth told National Public Radio.

In his statement published on university’s website, Roth wrote that with a fully vaccinated campus and no transmission in classrooms, the semester is expected to start normally.

This week, Wesleyan University registered 14 new positive cases from a total of 2,971 tests, a lower number of positive cases compared to numbers before the Thanksgiving break.

Duke University and Rutgers University have also encouraged their students to receive boosters but did not require them to do so yet.

In 2021, more than 1,000 colleges and universities across the United States have required COVID-19 vaccines for students and employees. According to Erudera’s University Vaccine Requirement Checker, some of the US universities requiring vaccination against COVID-19 are:

• Yale University
• Duke University
• Harvard University
• Princeton University
• Stanford University
• Rutgers University
• Ohio University

Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among undergraduate students, Princeton University announced stricter COVID-19 testing rules for those who return after Thanksgiving break. The university will require students to show a COVID-19 test upon their arrival to campus, and the latter will continue to wear masks until they receive negative test results.