COVID Booster Required For Students, Staff At Another NJ College

HOBOKEN, NJ — The Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken will require COVID-19 booster shots for all students, faculty, and staff as soon as they are eligible, but no later than March 31, 2022, the university announced Friday morning.

The announcement comes on the heels of other universities, such as Princeton, setting a similar requirement.

In New Jersey, people who are fully vaccinated (with two shots of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) can get a booster shot, depending on timing.

"Everyone 16 and older should get a booster shot at any vaccine location if it has been at least two months since their one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot or at least six months after completing their two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series," says the state on its COVID-19 website. "At this time, only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized and recommended for adolescents aged 16 and 17."

The state notes, "COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. However, studies show that vaccination may become less effective over time."

As of Friday, 803,000 Americans had died of coronavirus, with the highest death rates per person in Michigan, Montana, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

A letter issued by Stevens on Friday said:

<blockquote>As the fall 2021 semester comes to an end, I wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to each member of the Stevens community for taking extra care to allow all of us to return to campus in the safest way possible.

Although we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have successfully navigated in-person classes, meetings, events and residential living. I commend each of you for following the
Stevens Health Honor Code and appreciate all of your efforts during this challenging time.

Stevens’ careful planning and oversight of COVID-19 proved effective this semester. Considering the size of our community, Stevens had very few positive cases and those who were infected experienced mild to moderate symptoms. No COVID-positive members of our community were admitted to the hospital.

It is also evident that the vaccination requirement had a considerably positive impact on the health of our community. It is clear that those who were vaccinated were far less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those who received an exemption.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that all eligible adults 18 and older get a booster. The booster vaccine is important as public health experts are beginning to see reduced protection from the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. Expertsare confident that booster shots will increase immune response and provide further protection against the virus, preventing severe illness and hospitalizations.

Based on this public health guidance and with the support of representatives from our student, faculty and staff populations, Stevens will require that all students and employees receive and submit documentation of the booster vaccine as soon as they are eligible but no later than March 31, 2022...

Limited exemptions will be considered. Any prior exemptions must be renewed before the start of each semester. Individuals with exemptions will receive direct outreach from Student Health Services or Human Resources with details regarding exemption renewal.

Students can learn more on the Student Health Services website and employees may contact Human Resources."</blockquote>

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