In-Person SUNY Students Will Require Boosters For COVID-19

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Before the spring 2022 semester begins, SUNY students will be required to get COVID-19 booster shots.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that all students regularly accessing SUNY campuses for the spring semester will not only have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus but will be required to get booster shots when they are eligible.

Additionally, there will be mandatory pre-testing ahead of returning to campus, she said.

Each campus will develop and communicate an ongoing testing plan to monitor for positive cases throughout the semester, Hochul said.

Campuses will continue to enforce universal indoor masking regardless of vaccination status and social distancing for anyone who is unvaccinated on campus.

This guidance is in response to the continuing uptick in coronavirus infections in the state.

Hochul said the state needs to ensure students are able to stay in school and learn in-person throughout the spring semester.

"Students deserve to have a safe, and high quality in-person college experience," she said, "and with these new measures, students will be able to stay on campus and in their classes."

The mandates are in effect for the CUNY system as well.

Students who are regularly on campus who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster will now be required to receive one for the spring 2022 semester. Campuses must develop a plan and timeframe requirement for students to provide proof of booster vaccination.

On Monday, Hochul announced 10 new testing sites that will open on SUNY campuses across the state.

Among those being opened will be one on the SUNY Purchase campus.

Hochul said the new sites were a way to make testing easier for New Yorkers.

Exact locations and hours of operation will be announced as the program develops, the governor's office said.