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With new developments regarding COVID-19 booster shot guidelines taking place every day, it is time Syracuse University begins to consider making it mandatory for its students, faculty and staff.

On Nov. 19, the FDA officially extended the eligibility for both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots to people ages 18 and older who have already received two doses of the vaccine. Furthermore, Onondaga County recently expanded its eligibility to any adult who feels they are at risk.

The continuous exposure that SU community members experience daily falls under the category of “at risk,” and it should be the reason for the university’s action. Students are constantly attending in-person classes and social activities while also living in close proximity, such as in residence halls, which increases their vulnerability to the spread of the virus. Likewise, faculty members and employees are at risk of exposure when regularly interacting with large amounts of students.

According to the SU’s COVID-19 Dashboard, there has recently been an uptick in active COVID-19 cases on campus, specifically student cases. Making the booster shot mandatory could help decrease the number of cases and eventually lower the mask status, which is currently at the strictest level, “RED.”

Many students have spoken out about the unchanging mask status throughout the semester, suggesting that the number of COVID-19 cases on campus is minuscule and the mask mandate is pointless. The university should be committed to maintaining this trend of low cases to protect all of its community members. Additionally, without a meaningful action, like making booster shots mandatory, it is unlikely administrators will change the mask status.

A booster requirement is especially timely since the first semester is coming to an end and students will travel home for winter break and face more exposure. As seen previously, when the fall semester started, cases rose when students returned to campus, making it highly likely that the mask status will remain at “RED” at the beginning of the spring semester.

If SU were to make the booster shots mandatory for the return next semester, administrators may be more likely to lower the masking level. Furthermore, mandating the booster shot could help increase community members’ confidence about attending large social events. Even though most of the SU population is vaccinated, not everyone has felt safe returning to large group activities because of the emerging COVID-19 variants.

According to the World Health Organization, the current COVID-19 vaccines are less effective in protecting against infection and mild disease than they were for earlier virus variants. So, vaccinated people may still get infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the delta variant to be more contagious than previously known variants, and a new emerging variant was recently identified in South Africa. This new variant, named omicron, was found to have thirty new mutations that increase its transmissibility, making it a significant threat to vaccine efficiency.

As the virus evolves, so should the policies SU enforces. It is clear that the vaccine is no longer enough to ensure a healthy campus environment. Already, the university’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, Mike Haynie, sent a campus-wide email encouraging community members to find locations to receive their booster shots. It is time administrators take this action further and begin mandating the booster shot.

With a 98% student vaccination rate, making the vaccine a requirement for enrollment was clearly an effective preventive measure. Developments on COVID vaccines are not at the same place they were at the beginning of the year, however. Now that the booster shots have been approved, the same policy must be extended.

SU has already demonstrated its efficiency at protecting its community; this next stage could be a step closer to normalcy and campus well-being.

Karla Perez is a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at ksperezd@syr.edu.

Published on November 30, 2021 at 9:28 pm