College students are pretty much the last for the vaccine.
Fauci said 2022.
What do you think?
- Just because you get the vaccine doesnāt mean you can go around without a mask. We will become what Asia has been doing for years. If you have a cold. Put on a mask before going indoors to the store or on a bus /train etc.
If we donāt reach 80/90 %of people vaccinated it could be longer. Then most likely yearly vaccines going forward.
I would hope even if things go back to normalā¦ That every flu season we all use masks, wash hands, donāt tough face. We as a nation can really help cripple the flu if we want to.
Thatās my opinion.
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I do think masks will persist and probably should be used during flu season going forward.
College will likely get back to normal spring semester 2022. This upcoming semester will look much like last semester. Kind of a shame as the reducing spread was supposed to be about protecting the most at risk and they will already have been vaccinated. With most kids having little issue with covid, should be less of a concern if the general population was vaccinated around them. But that wonāt stop the liability of the schools so spring 2021 will be very controlled.
Fall 2021 will open up more provided we get to 75% vaccine coverage. But I think it will be a slow crawl.
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Guess what? The ADULTS havenāt stopped, let alone the kids! I am sure that colleges will require Covid vaccination in order to start in-person school next fall. If theyāre all immunized, and so are the faculty/staff, everything will be back to normal by the end of this summer.
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I think that colleges which can require vaccines, in states which have better response will get back to ānormalā by next fall. Colleges which refuse to require vaccines in states which have crappy or no response, will pretend that everything is back to normal as early as this spring, and will continue to pretend that everything is OK.
So there is a good likelihood that Colleges in Hawaiāi, Alaska, Vermont, Maine, and a couple of other states will be back to something approaching normal next fall. Colleges in some other states will open up and ignore large numbers of cases and hospitalizations.
The rest will have different levels of response and return to normal based on the local outbreaks, pressure from parents and state legislature, pressure from political and financial interests, levels of denial of the pandemic, levels of vaccination (connected to the former), efficiency of different states to provide vaccines, etc.
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From a college experience standpoint, Iām hoping that the Fall of 2021 gets things back to a semblance of normalcy.
I have little faith in the rosy government estimates (ā20M vaccinated by the end of the yearā has turned into a reported 1M actual vaccinations as of Dec. 23), but Iām hoping the ā300M by June 1ā can turn into some critical mass by September.
I think it will depend on the school you attend. Friendsā kids at many of the southern schools and big state schools said their social life was not that far off from ānormalā. And from the pictures I saw Iād say that was accurate.
If the criteria is percentage of the population vaccinated then Iād say fall/winter 2021 at the earliest as students will be pretty low on the vaccination priority schedule.
I think itās premature to speculate.
We do not have a substantial number of vaccinations accomplished, we do not know what happens next, in terms of longevity of any protection, etc.
Plan on caution, in the foreseeable future.
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Of course it too early to speculate but itās a thing on CCā¦ Lol 
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Get your kids ready to wear masks in the fall. When going to classes, eating or where there are large groups together. Same for all of us. When you go to the supermarket, restaurants etc, you will be wearing masks. Itās just not that horrible actually. Then we will be weaned off of them.
At my sonās campus most of the internationals from Asia didnāt have any issue wearing masks. Itās more their norm. We need to change our thinking going forward. This wonāt be the last virus we have to deal with. This is just our wake up call for things to come.
Studies show we should be wearing masks to some extent well into 2022. I just think itās healthier to have that mindset going forward. Kids donāt want to keep doing gap years etc for the perfect situation to occur. At some point you just have to take the best precautions you can and move forward.
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@Knowsstuff If college kids are (hopefully) required to be vaccinated for fall 2021, why would they have to continue to wear masks? Not disputing it, just genuinely curious. College students are one of the least vulnerable populations. I know they will be around staff, but again, if the staff is required to be vaccinated, why the need for masks? I can see seniors or people with co-morbidities possibly wearing them, but why everyone else?
@mamom111 Because we donāt yet know whether vaccinated people can still spread the disease, so masks will be around until we know that. Join the posters on the Inside Medicine thread for more discussion on that.
The purpose of masks, for the most part, it to protect other people, and it has yet to be determined if vaccines prevent the vaccinated from being able to spread the virus to others. Who knows if the vaccine will be mandatory.
My niece at UIUC told me sheās already received an email from the university saying they will be expected to take the vaccine. I didnāt get a chance to get details from her and Iām not sure she even read the email carefully but sheās under the impression that all students will be required to be vaccinated.
But they arenāt vaccinated yet or scheduled.
I wear a mask to protect myself, to whatever extent. Not simply some generous protection of others. I want my kids wearing them for the same self concern.
When itās phrased as āfor others,ā too easy for too many to make excuses.
Yes. True. I donāt think anyone knows when college students will be eligible for the vaccine but it does seem like some schools plan on requiring it. Iām certainly not thinking it will happen spring semester but Iām assuming the hope is to require it for fall.
Iām with the āwhy would vaccinated college kids wear masksā camp. I feel that if healthy, no pre-existing condition, 18-22 year olds can be vaccinated, then everyone who is at risk will have already had their turn at vaccinations, including faculty, staff, at risk people in town, etc. The only people behind college kids are even younger kids and they are even less at risk than the college kids.
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My daughter is a sophomore at UIUC and has been on campus all year. As most know, UIUC has been cited as a leader in testing - requiring 2X per week - and itās been an outstanding effort IMO. In fact, theyāve announced that theyāve delivered over a million tests so far. Kids get tested, get results on their phone, and have to show proof to be able to access campus buildings, activities (altho very limited). But - Iād say MOST of the kids my daughter is in contact with have already had covid and all have recovered. Many were asymptomatic. Somehow, my daughter has managed to avoid infection (knocking on wood). My main point is that, while campus activities and classes have been in virtual lockdown, many, many kids still have gotten covid and have recovered. I have not heard about any formal notification that vaccines will be required, but Iām sure my daughter will opt in when itās available for her. Weāre hoping for back-to-sort-of-normal this fall.
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āRegular social lifeā at colleges & universities may never return to pre-Covid-19 standards as awareness of how disease spreads may affect social behavioral patterns.
Additionally, the widespread use of, and acceptance of, remote online learning may impact living & social practices which should affect how we socialize.
The effects of the pandemic are likely to get worse in the next few months resulting in more careful social practices in the future.
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My daughter is off campus at the university of Delaware. Although they only allowed 1200 on campus with mostly online classes, many were in their off campus housing, and although massive parties and outdoor dages didnāt happen, there were smaller gatherings, most students my daughter knows had covid, including her.
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I think the OP is curious about social life on campus - tailgates, football games, concerts, whatever traditions the colleges have that bring lots of kids together. We just donāt know when restrictions on big gatherings will go away.
Iād be happy if, for fall, kids are in class in person, dining returned to normal, and sports can return to competition. Seems like we should be able to get to that if faculty and students are all vaccinated. Maybe large gatherings that can be controlled (like a football game where people have to enter a stadium) could happen and they could somehow check if youāve been vaccinated. All speculation of course.