With relief and gratitude for all of those who helped us get through the pandemic, we announce our ability to move beyond many of the University’s COVID protocols. We continue to encourage you to make individual choices to maximize your own safety, and we continue to offer enormous respect and care for the more vulnerable among us. But the same data that has driven Fordham’s decisions all along now counsels a different path. The federal government has announced the termination of the emergency phase of the crisis as of May, thus we can move forward into the endemic stage of the virus. We make this decision after broad consultation with our community.
As of May 15, Fordham will not require members of the University community or visitors to be vaccinated against COVID. Vaccinations and boosters will continue to be strongly recommended because they remain very effective in protecting each of us individually from serious illness and death. Vaccines will no longer be required, however, because new variants increasingly have evaded the vaccine’s initially strong ability to prevent transmission of the disease. What was once a critical way to protect the most vulnerable in our community has become more of an individual choice about safety, one we urge you to take seriously.
While many of us have learned to live with the risk of COVID, it is critical that we remember the most vulnerable—to care enormously about those who beat cancer (or face other risks) and now live in fear of being felled by a virus. To state the obvious, stay home if you test positive for COVID. But not just that—we all learned some good habits about staying home when we are sick with any infectious illness. And masks remain a critical way to keep from spreading our own germs when we are sick, and a tool for those who want or need to protect themselves.
The University will continue providing COVID vaccinations and testing to students as much as we can. Schedules will be posted on the Health Services Page. Employees should see their healthcare providers.
As of May 15, the University will no longer use VitalCheck to track vaccination status, nor to report COVID cases, and members of the on-campus community will no longer receive the daily VitalCheck questionnaire via text or email.
Long before the fall semester begins, we will take a look at all other policies in consultation with the data and our community, and will announce any changes with plenty of notice. Until then, all classroom and other policies remain in effect. If you have questions about any of this, you can email vpforadministration@fordham.
I arrived after the worst of the pandemic, but I want to say how proud I am of what you collectively achieved these last grueling years. In the midst of the terrible toll the virus took on New York City, Fordham’s data shows how well it managed to provide protection on campus and to model its concern for the neighborhoods around us, and for the communities you each returned home to. After the initial lockdown, the University carefully balanced the need to teach and serve students in person against the risks.
Fordham spent millions on these efforts—for vaccines, testing, masks, infrastructure modifications, and health and safety personnel. Fordham’s faculty, administrators, and staff worked tirelessly to teach and serve students. From the ridiculous juggling act of teaching in hybrid fashion to caring for students in the residence halls, from maximizing safety in our ventilation systems to giving thousands of COVID tests—I can’t possibly list here everything you sacrificed, but it was a miracle.
Students, we are so proud and grateful for the ways you helped us through, the millions of individual choices you made to keep our community safe. You lost so much, from critical years of social engagement to precious moments like graduations, and for some of you, far worse. We look at the data on levels of anxiety and depression with enormous concern. And despite how exhausted we also are, the Fordham community comes to work every day determined to be there for you.
We will continue to be prepared for whatever the world may throw at us, while praying for a reprieve from these ridiculously difficult times. Thank you all so much.
All my best,
Tania Tetlow
President
I am writing to remind you that all University faculty, students, and staff must be up-to-date as defined by the CDC as of Tuesday, November 1, 2022—meaning individuals must receive the updated (bivalent) booster if it has been 2 months or longer since their last COVID-19 vaccine, or 90 days after recovering from a COVID-19 infection. The same standards apply to campus visitors, guest speakers, and visiting athletic teams.
Individuals may request medical or personal religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate: faculty and staff should email Human Resources at occ-health-medicine@fordham.
After the November 1 deadline, the University will be contacting any individuals who have neither provided the appropriate documentation demonstrating they are up-to-date with the vaccine, nor have received an exemption, to confirm their compliance. Individuals who continue to remain non-compliant will ultimately have their access to campus restricted.
Being up-to-date on the vaccine is particularly important because of an increase in COVID-19 infections in the UK and Europe, including the new BQ.1.1 subvariant. Public health officials believe that the infection spike in the UK and Europe presage a fall/winter wave of infections in the U.S.
Being a community that is up-to-date on vaccinations has allowed Fordham to operate largely without masking and social distancing requirements. There is an abundant body of evidence that boosters reduce the transmission of the virus. The pandemic’s lethality has been blunted because of widespread vaccination for COVID-19, but COVID-19 remains a public health threat which still has the capacity to shut down our campuses.
While being up-to-date on vaccinations is important for everyone, it is critical for people living in group settings such as University housing. The Fordham community is composed of people of all ages, and there are many faculty, staff, and students who are vulnerable for factors seen and unseen.
The University has the new updated bivalent vaccines in stock and will administer them free of charge. Individuals can walk in for vaccines at the times and locations listed on the Testing and Vaccine Resources Page. (The updated bivalent vaccines are also available in the New York City area.) Individuals who received their vaccinations off campus should upload proof of vaccination to VitalCheck by clicking on the link text “Has your vaccination status recently changed?” on the daily VitalCheck email/text message.
COVID-19 and flu vaccines both reduce illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. As flu season approaches and COVID-19 vaccine recommendations are updated, individuals should consider receiving both vaccinations at the same time if they are eligible and the timing is appropriate. The immune response and possible side effects are generally the same whether individuals receive one vaccine at a time or two, according to the CDC.
Employees with questions about Fordham’s COVID-19 policies should email vpforadministration@fordham.
As always, our policies and protocols are subject to change, based on conditions on and off campus, and any new federal, state, or local regulations.
Finally, please accept my profound thanks, and that of the University administration, to those of you who are staying up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccinations. By doing so you are saving lives and helping to keep the members of the Fordham community healthy and safe. Your willingness to get vaccinated is cura personalis in action, and it is deeply appreciated.
Marco Valera
Vice President for Administration & COVID-19 Coordinator
Accordingly, the University updated its protocols, requiring faculty, students, staff, and guests to be fully up-to-date as defined by the CDC by Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Visitors must follow the same protocol. More information is available on the COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement webpage. This message was shared with all students, faculty, staff, and parents on September 27. The University had communicated the likelihood of this update in protocol to the University community and parents since April 2022 (see the communications history below).
Individuals may still request medical or personal religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate: students should contact University Health Services; faculty and staff should email Human Resources at [email protected].
COVID-19 remains a public health threat. To the extent that the pandemic’s lethality has been blunted, it is because of widespread vaccination for COVID-19. People are still getting sick, but the percentage of those who require hospitalization or who die is much lower—this, by itself, is reason enough to require everyone on campus to be vaccinated and boosted.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 still has the capacity to shut down our campuses. While being up-to-date on vaccinations is important for everyone, it is critical for people living in group settings such as University housing. The Fordham community is composed of people of all ages, and there are many faculty and staff (and some students) who are vulnerable because of their age and other factors.
Fordham already requires proof of immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella, and meningitis—and has done so for decades. Like those diseases, COVID-19 is a public health issue, and the relevant authority is the CDC. It recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, including all primary series doses and boosters for their age group.
We follow CDC guidelines because it has both access to the scientific literature and the expertise to interpret the data and make recommendations based upon it. The CDC bases its guidelines on the work of many researchers, virologists, and epidemiologists—a depth of experience and expertise beyond what can be expected from individual medical practitioners.
Vaccine manufacturers roll out new flu vaccines every year without clinical trials: likewise, the new COVID-19 vaccines, which protect against variants, is based upon established vaccines. It is rare in the history of vaccines to have so few people suffer side effects. The CDC’s vaccine safety page addresses the concerns of those who are hesitant to receive vaccines/boosters under several headings:
All of which can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html
As an institution that practices care for the whole person, we have to follow the lead of public health authorities.
Communications History
Prior to September Fordham students, faculty, staff, and parents received the following messages via email (which were also posted to the website and social media):
New students and their parents received email regarding the vaccine requirement on June 1, 2022: “Fordham University requires all students who are taking in-person classes, living in University housing, or entering the campus for any reason to be up to date with their COVID-19 Vaccines, which currently includes one booster dose.” and on the linked page: “It may be necessary to require a second booster shot for eligible individuals for the 2022-2023 academic year.” New students and their parents received similar messages on July 29, August 23, and August 29.
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I know that many of you are already back to work—in person or virtually—in preparation for the spring semester. I imagine all of you are wondering what that semester will look like on campus. Though there are a number of uncertainties around the rollout of the vaccine, I can share with you the following outline of Fordham’s plan.
1. The guidelines informing our efforts and plan:
a. Some members of University Health Services and FUEMS have already received the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and will receive their second doses shortly after classes resume on February 1. As of today (Monday, 11 Jan.), the state has added “in-person college faculty or instructor” to the list of populations who are eligible to vaccinated, as an option under the Additional Information section. (The option only appears once you choose a response to the question above it.) Individuals seeking vaccination may be asked to prove their eligibility via employee ID card, a letter from their employer, or a pay stub. This will likely vary by vaccination location. Faculty teaching in person should complete this screening form. (Note that faculty teaching online are not yet eligible for vaccinations.) For those located in New York City, there is a separate scheduling tool, available here. Those who live outside of New York should check their state’s website for eligibility.
b. It will likely be some months before the vaccines are universally available, and the bulk of the campus community has been vaccinated. For at least that duration, the University will continue to keep COVID-19 precautions in place, including mandatory testing, the wearing of face coverings in public areas, and maintaining social distancing in all areas on campus, as recommended by the CDC.
c. We urge you all to be vaccinated at the earliest opportunity to build immunity on our campus and in the communities to which we belong, including our families, neighborhoods, cities, and towns. (Wide adoption of the vaccine among members of the University community will mean a quicker return to in-person teaching, learning, and extracurricular activity.) Obviously the University and the members of the community must follow the vaccination protocols adopted and promulgated by the states, counties, and cities in which we live and work.
d. Regarding the above, you may be aware that the New York state has identified a number of categories to which the vaccines will be made available in phases. The first to receive the vaccines will be front-line healthcare workers, those residing in care homes, other front-line and uniformed workers, and those over the age of 75. The second (or 1B) category will include teachers, with K-12 teachers receiving the vaccines first, followed by college/universities teachers and others who work on college/university campuses. Students will be among the last to receive the vaccines unless they have underlying health conditions.
2. The Present Plan:
a. Fordham will continue to follow the protocols for universal daily screening, periodic universal testing, social distancing and masking that we used in the Fall Semester. (To assist our testing efforts, we have ordered 40,000 tests from the Broad Institute. As was the case last semester, Broad Institute tests will be administered on both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses.)
b. Fordham has entered into an agreement with the New York City DOH to serve as a designated vaccination site for the members of its own community. Under the terms of the agreement, we have ordered sufficient doses for the first round of vaccinations for the faculty, students, staff and administration. (These will be followed by a similar number to ensure that those who receive the initial vaccination are able to receive the second dose necessary to ensure as full an immunity as the present vaccines are able to provide—you will be given an appointment for your second vaccination when you receive the first one.) We do not yet know when we will receive those doses.
c. Preparations for the Administration of the Vaccines:
3. Additional Notes:
As you know, the protocols that the state is mandating (and the vaccination schedules that it is following) are evolving quite rapidly. Therefore, while we are not entirely sure when we will receive the doses that we have contracted for, we will begin the process of registering people for their vaccination appointments as soon as we receive firm word from the state.
In the meantime, if you wish to receive a free vaccination at one of the sites that the City of New York has established, here is a link to the New York City vaccine location finder that the Department of Education sent to teachers. Only those who fall into the categories that the state and city are focusing on at the moment should make an appointment through it and other links.
Though there are still a number of questions to be resolved, I hope this gives you some hope that we are making progress on restoring the nation to health, and our campuses to normalcy. Again, I stress that much of the information herein is provisional—the city and state’s plans are evolving rapidly. We will be writing to you with additional information as soon as it becomes available, including links to sign up for vaccination appointments. Check your email for updates.
I applaud all of you for your hard work and diligence under the trying conditions of the Fall semester, and know that you share our desire to return to the usual academic experience we have missed since last March.
You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Joseph M. McShane, S.J.