No COVID Vaccine Mandate At Ocean County College For Spring

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County College students, faculty and staff will be required to test weekly for COVID-19 during the spring semester if they are not fully vaccinated before the semester begins Jan. 24.

College officials announced the testing requirement as the college gears up for the spring semester.

"OCC’s campus is open for all members of our community to work and learn full time and in person," the announcement said. "The health and safety of our students and employees is of paramount importance and our decisions are informed by guidance issued from local, state, and federal public health authorities."

Testing will be required weekly beginning Jan. 24 and continuing through the spring semester; it is available at no charge on campus.

Students, faculty and staff members who work or study exclusively online and do not visit the campus or the Southern Eduction Center in Manahawkin are excluded.

For those who are vaccinated, proof can be submitted to the college by uploading the vaccination card; information is on the OCC website. Those who provided the proof in fall will need to do so again as OCC has changed the system is using to maintain those records.

Unvaccinated individuals who have a positive antibody test result due to a previous COVID-19 infection may be exempted from weekly testing. In order to be considered for exemption you must provide a doctor’s note that indicates the date of the positive antibody test. OCC cannot determine how long protection from antibodies might last, therefore your doctor must also provide an end date for the exemption.

"If you are unvaccinated, positive antibody test results alone will not qualify you for exemption from weekly testing. You must upload a doctor’s note containing the required information to the Medicat system in order to be considered for exemption," officials said.

OCC officials said the college will continue to track reported exposures and positive COVID-19 tests through HealthReporting@ocean.edu.

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