BY CASSIDEY KAVATHAS, MANAGING EDITOR
Students at St. Bonaventure University are required to get booster shots by Feb. 1, if they are eligible for one. The university strongly recommended receiving a booster vaccine before returning to campus. On Jan. 21, the Center for Student Wellness, in partnership with the Cattaraugus County Health Department hosted a vaccine booster clinic in Doyle Hall for the campus community.
“With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and the science indicating that a booster greatly enhanced the chances of not contracting COVID or getting only mild symptoms if they did,” said Tom Missel, co-chair of the COVID-19 task force at St. Bonaventure University. “The task force felt that requiring boosters for students was the most effective way to limit the spread of COVID in the student body and allow us to get through the semester as safely as possible.”
Currently, there are no plans for another vaccine booster clinic on campus but there are multiple opportunities off campus for students who have yet to receive a booster. As of Tuesday students who are eligible for the booster must have received one unless they had COVID-19 within 90 days.
“Once we determine how many students who were eligible to be boosted failed to do so, we will contact them to let them know they will face adjudication through the student judicial process if they haven’t received the booster,” said Missel, the chief communications officer at the university.
Though students are required to be vaccinated and boosted unless they have been exempted, faculty and staff do not have to be vaccinated.
“In gathering vaccination proof from employees last semester, we know that more than 93 percent of our employees are vaccinated, with many of them already boosted or indicating they intend to be boosted,” said Missel
So far there have been more than 60 confirmed cases between students and employees this semester, with 79 cases total for the entire fall semester. In the university COVID update on Jan. 28, the university confirmed that students and all members of the campus community are eligible to receive four free at-home COVID tests at www.covidtests.gov by entering their name, email and residential address. Once an order is placed, an email confirmation will be sent from the United States Postal Service.
“The federal government announced a nationwide giveaway of four free home tests earlier this month (Jan) and we checked to make sure students were eligible,” said Missel. “Each student has a P.O. Box at a U.S. Post Office, that is considered a residential address.”
The university hopes that as Omicron subsides, restrictions in New York state will loosen.
“Our hope is more restrictions won’t be necessary and that we might even be able to relax some restrictions as the semester goes on once Omicron subsides enough,” said Missel. “We learned early on in the pandemic that trying to predict what might happen even tomorrow is risky, so there’s always a chance if for some reason a new variant surfaces that more stringent restrictions might be necessary.”
kavathcj20@bonaventure.edu
