11-22-21: Campus Community Message
Dear Students, Families and Colleagues,
We wish you well as Thanksgiving draws near! Huge thanks go to all of you who have worked with such tremendous commitment and care make it possible for the College to operate fully and safely this semester. It has been wonderful to see our vibrant academic, musical, athletic, and student organization activities happening again in such terrific ways! (See our dashboard, here, for current testing results.) We are writing today to share some updates and answers to frequently asked questions regarding the College’s public health efforts for the end of this semester and the start of the spring term. We hope these will be useful.
What about booster shots for the COVID vaccine?
The CDC and FDA now encourage booster shots for all adults to increase the effectiveness of COVID vaccines in prevention illness and transmission. Those who received Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are eligible for a booster at any time at least 6 months after their second shot. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are strongly encouraged to get a booster at any time at least 2 months after their original shot. Boosters are available free of charge at most pharmacies, and there will be on campus booster shot clinics on December 6 and 9. Watch your email for more details. We encourage everyone to get a booster shot when they are eligible.
What is the testing schedule for the final few weeks of fall term?
The College will not test this week (as it is so short). After Thanksgiving, we will continue testing those who are not vaccinated weekly, on our regular schedule. Testing will continue through finals week (the week of December 13-17.) We will not test in the week of December 20.
What will testing look like in the spring semester?
We anticipate continuing to test unvaccinated persons weekly in the spring semester, as we have this fall, per the guidance of public health experts. In addition, we will test all students on arrival for spring semester, to be sure we get off to a good, safe start to the term. Students should look out for more specifics on those testing plans, which we will share early in January.
Will there be any changes to COVID policies or protocols for spring? Will Wooster still require masks? Change testing plans? Change vaccine requirements?
Our strategy this fall, which was guided by national and state public health experts, has been very successful in keeping the community safe, healthy and running. We don’t expect to make major changes, but we will carefully consider new public health guidance, as well as our experiences and those of our peers, in deciding whether we may make any modifications to our approaches. Any changes will be shared by early January.
Do you expect that COVID vaccines will still be required for students in the fall?
Yes.
Does the dashboard include COVID tests taken off campus, if they are reported to the College?
Yes.
As always, please feel free to send any questions you may have to wooster-covid-19@wooster.edu, and we will make sure they get to the right person for an answer.
Sincerely, and with great gratitude,
The COVID Task Force
Sarah Bolton, Angela Johnston, Lisa Perfetti, Myrna Hernández and Jim Prince
Posted in Community Message on November 22, 2021.
