Boulder county has one of the worst vaccination rates for school aged children (MMR, Dtap and the others) in the nation. The mindset in Boulder, at the university and in the community, is not to require vaccinations of any kind.
OddâŠteachers may resist getting the vaccine yet theyâre the ones who donât want to teach in person because theyâre worried about contracting Covid.
8 Likes
Agreed. And not sure that some are going to teach if they are vaccinated and the students arenât. And students under 16 arenât going to be vaccinated for quite awhile.
Williams just confirmed that they will be able to accommodate all returning students for Spring semester in singles (assuming no change of plans and that Spring continues to be on campus).
7 Likes
Worse than Marin County? Seems like anyone who is a teacher there would want to be fully vaccinated against everything possible, since there will be anti-vaxersâ kids bringing in all kinds of vaccine-preventable diseases.
1 Like
The low vax rate in Boulder is misleading. Sure there are some anti-vaxers, but itâs mostly because Boulder makes it sooooo easy to opt out and never have to bring in an immunization form.
@mom1720 I think it may be harder for public universities than private universities to require the vaccine, because public universities may have restrictions on what they can require since they get government funding. I also think that the very top private colleges will require it (at least for students) because theyâre not worried about any students transferring out, while less competitive universities may have more trouble (in the form of students potentially transferring out). While it may sound bizarre that people will change their jobs or education path due to the requirement of a vaccine, I have a relative who is a doctor and one custodial worker there quit because they required the INFLUENZA vaccine this year.
1 Like
Many state schools require some vaccines, especially to live in dorms. D1 went to a public school that only required that she have an MMR. D2 attended a private school in Florida and that required at least one meningitis one, but may have had more; since she went to a Florida hs, they knew sheâd had every shot you can think of. Florida requires them for all kinds of things, like school, day care, rec centers, sports teams. Their vax records were attached to their hs transcripts. Who knew? (not me).
I do remember that Florida doesnât require chickenpox because D2âs record is unclear on that one and everyone points it out and then says âbut donât worry as itâs not required.â
I think the bigger problem will not be requiring them but the ability for young, healthy 18-22 year olds to get a vaccine in the spring. Schools canât require them if they arenât available.
Vanderbilt will not require/provide pre-arrival testing for the spring semester but will require arrival testing as well as weekly testing throughout the semester (as they did in the fall). The say:
Vanderbilt Universityâs ongoing COVID-19 safety model continues to leverage collaboration and partnership with the world-class Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing to support and protect the Vanderbilt University community as much as possible. Vanderbilt testing methods are employed in consultation with VUMC experts, and the university will continue to evaluate all testing options and methods moving forward.
PREARRIVAL TESTING
No pre-arrival testing will be required before return to campus. Based on the learnings from this fall, we expect studentsâ highest risk activities prior to returning to campus are likely to be traveling to campus and engaging in social activities before classes begin, so efforts will focus on arrival testing and a shelter in place protocol.
Additionally, the fall move-in schedule did not allow for testing everyone within the first few days of arrival so pre-arrival testing was advised. In addition, we did not have a test available with a short turnaround time at the start of the fall semester. This has now changed with our new testing vendor so we can test everyone and clear them very quickly.
ARRIVAL TESTING
All undergraduate students will be tested upon arrival prior to the start of the spring semester. Arrival testing will be conducted at the testing center located in the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center. Testing will occur Jan. 20 through Jan. 25. Students will schedule a time for their arrival test and will be required to attend their arrival test. Students will receive an email from the Office of the University Registrar (URO) by Jan. 14 to schedule their arrival testing slot.
Students will be required to âshelter in placeâ in their residence halls if on campus or in off-campus residences until they receive a negative result. âShelter in placeâ means that you must not participate in in-person campus activities, including classes or group activities, until receiving a negative test result. Off-campus students should not come to campus at all, other than for testing, until they receive a negative test result.
4 Likes
Iâm talking about students being required to get a vaccine for next fall, not spring.
I donât think that colleges would mandate a vaccine that has not been approved by the FDA, especially when the experts are saying that an individual can still transmit the virus after receiving the vaccine.
What they are and have been saying is that it is not known whether the vaccine will prevent transmission of the virus by vaccinated people who are prevented from becoming sick, because there have not been completed studies on the matter (although there are some studies on that starting or in progress).
The tone has changed from previous pessimism (back then they were expecting the first vaccines to be only about 50% effective) to optimism now (since the first two vaccines have shown 95% effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19), but there is still caution that we do not yet know for sure (until the relevant studies have been completed).
5 Likes
That is interesting. My youngest goes to a small college on outskirts of Boston. Supposed to be on campus 1/19 for remote classes for a week, then hybrid. I donât see how that is possible with the second surge hitting MA now and post Christmas cases expected to get worse. They had an excellent fall semester, with twice weekly testing and strict compliance code. Numbers were extremely low while on campus. I just think it is not going to be so easy in a month with numbers exploding in the state, and I donât have the heart to say anything. We shall seeâŠ
Pitt has delayed January dorm move in but not the start of classes. Iâm not sure if theyâve given a date yet or if itâs still up in the air. PA is not doing well with the virus right now. Classes will start remotely as scheduled. They are allowing students to cancel spring housing and will be prorating room and board charges for those who donât cancel. My S is off campus so he will be going back as scheduled the week before classes start. Most of his friends are off campus and as of now are planning to return before classes start.
Hi Homerdog, my youngest son going back to Bowdoin also for the spring (feb start). he actually enjoyed fall semester off- took local classes, had a part time job, learning to cook, so it turned out o.k. he got classes he wanted for spring- bio, econ. looks like bowdoin is doing all singles in spring which ap pears to be a good idea. fingers crossed
2 Likes
Oh good! S will be back too. Also got the classes he wanted. Heâs looking forward to it! And yes fingers crossed for a good semester on campus! Glad your S made the most of fall. Deferring really was the best decision for a lot of kids.
3 Likes
Can he email the professor and explain? Or ask whether next time he needs to ârecordâ each time he raises his âvirtual handâ so as to prove he did try to participate as much as possible?
Too late. The grade is final and he refused to complain - its just not his nature. He wonât take a class from this prof again.
Iâm so sorry. He needs to distinguish when heâs complaining for nothing and when he needs to speak up - itâs a thing to bicker over 1 point (as some students are prompt to do) and another to be docked a full letter grade for missing something⊠that you did do.
1 Like
Iâm concerned about how my Dâs school is going to do at the beginning of Spring semester. They did very well this Fall, so they decided to bring back ALL of the classes rather than 3/4. They are moving kids back the weekend of Jan 9th for a 2 week quiet period and starting classes Jan 20th. Iâm concerned kids are going to be coming back while there is a heavy spike going on from Xmas/New Yearsâ get togethers. I wish, instead, they would move kids back on Jan 20th and just have all remote classes between the 20th and when everyone is free from the 2 week quiet period. Another concern is I saw on the parentsâ FB page that at least one of the dorms has floor bathrooms, such that 20 kids will be sharing a multi-stall, multi-shower bathroom. Sharing that during the 2 week quiet period seems like the biggest potential area for exposure.
1 Like