The California State University (CSU) system announced on Wednesday, Dec. 22 that students, faculty and staff members accessing in-person university facilities in spring 2022 will be required to receive their COVID-19 booster shot by Feb. 28, or six months after their final dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
However, the CSU Chancellor’s Office will continue to maintain the COVID-19 policy to continue to allow students and employees to seek medical and religious exemptions, according to the CSU website.
CSU officials also said individual campuses have the option to push the booster towards an earlier date “based on local circumstances” due to the spread of COVID-19.
“Vaccinations, including a booster when eligible, remains our most effective strategy against infection and severe disease,” CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said in a statement. “This is particularly important in light of the rapid rise of cases of COVID-19 throughout the state and nation as the Omicron variant spreads. Implementing the booster requirement now will help mitigate the potential spread of the variant on campuses as they repopulate in January after the winter break.”
CSULB administrators sent out a COVID-19 policy update email to students and faculty members and stated they “remain in close communication with medical experts and public health officials” in order to carefully monitor the “variant’s spread and virulence.”
The email also stated that CSULB’s online vaccine certification system will be requiring students and faculty members to include their booster shot information starting in January.
“In the meantime, I encourage you to seek out a booster shot as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so,” President Jane Close Conoley said in the email. “We will continue to update our COVID-19 information website in the new year with information about on-campus vaccination resources.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Dec. 22 at 4:05 p.m. in order to include Long Beach State’s response towards the CSU COVID-19 vaccination policy.