No Boosters, Testing: Princeton U. Makes COVID Policy Change For Fall

PRINCETON, NJ — Ahead of the fall semester, Princeton University has revised its COVID-19 policies, rolling back some protocols it put in place throughout the pandemic. These changes are "effective immediately", the University said.

The most significant policy change is that the University will no longer mandate booster shots for students and employees. A memo of the changes was recently sent to the University community.

Referring to data from the past few months, the University said it has cause to believe that while boosters do protect the individual, it does not “significantly curb transmission of the current prevalent COVID variants.”

“The University will continue to monitor the profile of the disease and the efficacy and availability of new boosters and may mandate boosters again in the future if public health circumstances and benefits warrant it,” the memo said.

In another significant change, the University will no longer require students and staff to participate in the asymptomatic testing program. The University has asked students and employees to voluntarily participate in the program to help monitor the disease on campus.

Masks will no longer be required on campus, but “instructors may continue to require masks in classrooms, labs, and other teaching environments,” according to the memo. The memo has asked the campus community to be “considerate” to “requests of individuals who prefer mask-wearing, including those who may be at higher risk.”

The University will continue to follow the CDC and NJ Department of Health isolation requirement of five days. Those who test positive for COVID-19 will be released from isolation on day six if “symptoms have resolved.” They will be required to wear a KN95 mask around others until 10 days have passed since they first tested positive.

Visitors on campus are still expected to either be vaccinated, have recently received a negative test, or agree to wear a face mask when indoors. But University officials have eliminated the proof of attestation requirement.

These new changes come as the CDC recently recommended that people in 18 New Jersey counties mask up for public, indoor spaces after a gradual increase in the state's total COVID-19 hospitalizations, which surpassed 1,100 patients for the first time since mid-February, state officials said. More: Mask Up In Most Of NJ, CDC Says As COVID Hospitalizations Increase

All New Jersey counties were in the "high" category except for three in the medium grouping - Mercer, Salem and Cumberland Counties.

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