If you're a CSU Ram, you'll need to get your COVID-19 booster shot this year.

In a Thursday (Dec. 30) press release, Colorado State University President Joyce McConnell announced that all students and staff must receive the third dose of vaccine in order to be on campus for the Spring 2022 semester.

"As we turn our planning to the Spring 2022 semester, we must account for persistently high numbers of hospitalizations and ICU usage due to Covid here in Larimer County. Now, we must also account for the potential spread of the more contagious Omicron variant," said McConnell in the release. "Our CSU community has really stepped up with more than 90 percent of our community full [sic] vaccinated and not one in-class Covid transmission all year. We must maintain this momentum."

Noting that "requiring boosters is not a step we take lightly," McConnell said that CSU will continue to honor vaccine exemptions while requiring saliva screenings from those who have not shared their vaccination records.

According to the Coloradoan, CSU does not yet have a way to record proof of the booster vaccinations.

Lori Lynn, co-chair of CSU's Pandemic Preparedness Team and Executive Director of the CSU Health Network, previously told the publication that CSU would not implement a booster requirement until the CDC changed its definition of "fully vaccinated," which currently does not include the third shot.

The University of Colorado Boulder is not requiring COVID-19 boosters; however, the institution will start the Spring 2022 semester remotely to mitigate the omicron spread and the impact of the Marshall Fire.

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Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?

Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.

 

 

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