Health Services update for January 21, 2022

Mark Parisi, director of counseling and health services, sent the following update to students today (January 21, 2022):

Dear Students,

Welcome back! While the Omicron variant has presented many challenges for all of us over the break, we hope you and your families were able to stay safe and healthy and still enjoy the time away from academics. As we embark on a new semester, please remember to continue to practice all the safety protocols which we have been implementing throughout the pandemic. Keep wearing masks in all indoor campus locations (double-masking is now recommended but check the CDC guidance to make sure you are doing it correctly), keep washing your hands frequently, and physically distancing and stay home when you are sick. We all know how to keep our community safe!

Booster requirement: All students are now required to show proof of having received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by June 30, 2022. Remember CDC guidance says you can have the booster 5 months after your last dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 2 months after your J&J vaccine. So if you are eligible and have not yet received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, please sign up for one of our booster clinics coming up on February 3, March 3, and April 7. Be sure to send a copy of your vaccine card to covidresults@strose.edu once you have received your booster.

Surveillance testing: Look for the email invitation to sign up for our campus surveillance testing which will be sent out weekly to students and employees so we can test about 25% of our campus population each week.

Return to Campus testing: Resident students moving back this weekend – make sure you get your test kit from your RA when you move in. There are instructions on when and how to do the test, as well as where to drop it off.

Commuter students who haven’t already tested, please sign up by Sunday at noon to get tested on campus next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday (January 24-26).

If you have tested positive in the last 90 days and haven’t let us know, please email us at covidresults@strose.edu and do not plan to test again with us.