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Students no longer need to get a COVID vaccine to attend a SUNY school

SUNY on April 11 said it’s no longer requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for students to attend classes at its 64 campuses, effective for summer courses. SUNY’s campuses include Upstate Medical University (pictured) and the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. (PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM)

ALBANY, N.Y. — Beginning with summer courses this year, SUNY will no longer require a COVID-19 vaccine for students to attend its 64 campuses. The decision coincides with U.S. President Joe Biden signing a federal bill on April 10 declaring the official end of the national public-health emergency associated with the pandemic. Moving forward, COVID-19 […]

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ALBANY, N.Y. — Beginning with summer courses this year, SUNY will no longer require a COVID-19 vaccine for students to attend its 64 campuses.

The decision coincides with U.S. President Joe Biden signing a federal bill on April 10 declaring the official end of the national public-health emergency associated with the pandemic.

Moving forward, COVID-19 vaccinations will be “strongly encouraged” for students, which is consistent with other viruses including influenza and mpox, SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. said in the announcement. SUNY also encourages faculty and staff to stay up to date on vaccinations.

The decision came at the recommendation of SUNY’s public-health expert advisory committee, which includes physicians and experts in infectious disease, public health, and neuroscience.

Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, and Dr. Wayne Riley, president of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences in Brooklyn, co-chair the committee.

SUNY convened the group earlier this year to collect and review data on vaccinations, as well as trends in infection rates from newer variants. SUNY also worked with state health officials in making this decision, per the announcement.

“Across the nation, we have been pleased to see the rates of infection come down as vaccination levels improved and the new COVID variants became much less severe. SUNY’s updated public health policy for COVID-19 is in line with other city, state, and national action to relax the mandate, and also provides campuses with protocols to keep campuses safe should there be any uptick in cases,” Dewan and Riley said.

The “vast majority” of SUNY students are New Yorkers, and to date, about 77.5 percent of 18–25-year-olds and 79.8 percent of 26–34-year-olds across the state have completed their primary series vaccination. In addition, SUNY cites the CDC as indicating rates of infection continue to decline across the country.

Eric Reinhardt