The University of Indianapolis will require on-campus faculty, staff and students to get their COVID-19 booster shot by March 1, after instituting a requirement earlier this year for people on campus to be fully vaccinated against the virus.
Students, staff and faculty members were required to either have a one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine or have completed both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines by Sept. 25. People who received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines aren’t eligible to get their booster shot until at least six months after they are fully vaccinated, so students who wait until the six months has elapsed won’t be penalized for missing the March 1 deadline, said Garrison Carr, a spokesperson for the university.
The college will also accept any eligible exemptions that were also accepted for the original vaccine requirement, according to an emailed statement from President Robert Manuel.
The decision to require a booster shot stems from the rise of the COVID-19 omicron variant, which now accounts for the majority of new COVID cases nationwide. Students will be required to update their status on the Med+Proctor mobile app once they receive their booster dose, according to the email.
“While we are not sure how omicron will impact our community just yet, we do know that one of the best protective measures for our ability to be together is the vaccine,” Manuel said in the email. “After many conversations with our medical advisors and public health experts, we fully expect that the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) will soon update the definition of a ‘fully-vaccinated’ individual to include a booster shot at the appropriate time interval.”
