COVID Boosters Required At Another NJ University By March

MADISON, NJ — Drew University joined a growing list of New Jersey higher-educational institutions that will require COVID-19 booster shots in the near future. Students, faculty, staff and contract workers have until March 31 to get the shot.

Announcing the requirement Dec. 20, University President Thomas J. Schwarz cited the increased transmission of COVID-19, the continued spread of the delta and omicron variants worldwide and the Centers for Disease Control approving boosters for people 16 and older.

Read Schwarz's full announcement here.

Drew University also plans to test all students — vaccinated and exempt — to begin the spring semester. Classes return Jan. 19, according to the university's academic calendars.

Like many universities around New Jersey, Drew required vaccinations for students and employees last semester. The mandate for faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, temporary employees and independent contractors took effect Oct. 15.

The March 31 deadline for booster shots is about six months from when most faculty and staff became required to get fully vaccinated, "making most non-exempt individuals eligible for their boosters within this window," Schwarz said.

See info on booster eligibility from the CDC.

Vaccine exemptions are available for "sincerely-held religious beliefs" and medical reasons. Those who are fully remote are not required to get vaccinated.

Several New Jersey higher-ed institutions have announced booster requirements in recent weeks. All eligible Princeton University students and staff must get a booster shot by Jan. 30. Students, faculty and staff at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken must receive the shot as soon as they're eligible, but no later than March 31.

Rutgers University announced a booster requirement Tuesday for students and employees by the time the institution returns to in-person learning Jan. 31. Read more: Rutgers Now Requires Booster Shot For All Students, Staff

Need to find a COVID-19 test or vaccination site? Visit the New Jersey Department of Health's vaccine appointment finder and test site finder.

Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of the illness, some experience conditions known as long COVID or long-haul COVID, according to the CDC. Learn more about long COVID at the CDC's post-COVID conditions page.

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