Just as plans for in-person learning were on the rise, campuses began bracing for a new challenge: COVID-19’s Omicron variant. Instead of loosening restrictions, colleges and universities are increasing random testing, sustaining indoor mask mandates and, where permissible, upping the requirements for being vaccinated to include booster shots.
As was the case with the Delta variant over the summer, Omicron appears to be rapidly transmissible. While researchers examine whether booster vaccines should be enhanced to address the variants, the ability of existing vaccines to mitigate transmission remains the prevailing scientific advice.
Queensborough Community College has created accessible COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
“We anticipate that there will probably be a mild increase that’s consistent with what we’re seeing across the state, but we haven’t seen that yet,” says Stephen Di Dio, vice president and chief marketing and communication officer at Queensborough Community College (QCC), part of the City University of New York (CUNY).
As QCC’s CUNY Coronavirus Campus Liaison, Di Dio makes sure the college complies with all the practices and policies that CUNY sets for its institutions.
Fall semester
“Creating a safe campus environment is all of our responsibility, and all members of the college community are expected to comply with all CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), New York State and local health guidelines,” says Dr. Jennifer M. Lancaster, vice president for academic affairs/academic dean at St. Francis College (SFC), a small private college in Brooklyn, New York.
