SUNY schools end mandatory student COVID-19 vaccine policy

By Kendall Luther asst. news editor

The State University of New York system announced the end of its emergency COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its 64 campuses on Tuesday, e ective at the beginning of the summer.

SUNY previously required all students accessing SUNY facilities in-person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination at least thirty days before the start of each given term, according to the system’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

Now, COVID-19 vaccinations will be “strongly encouraged” for students, faculty and sta , along with vaccinations for other viruses like influenza and mpox. The City University of New York system announced a similar change in requirements for its 22 colleges, e ective on May 23.

“The safety of SUNY’s students is our fi rst and foremost priority, and while COVID is no longer an emergency, we will not lose sight of the impact it continues to have on us,” SUNY Chancellor John B. King said in SUNY’s news release.

Tuesday’s announcement follows a bipartisan resolution signed into law Monday by President Joe Biden to terminate the COVID-19 national public emergency. The national health emergency was set to expire on May 11 after repeated extensions under the Biden administration after former President Donald Trump’s initial declaration in March

2020. This week’s declaration does not a ect the end of the separate public health emergency, which will still end on May 11.

David Larsen, professor of public health at Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, said public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic tend to progress more quickly than standard governance processes. He said the pace allows the government to mandate vaccinations and mobilize resources, and the end of the emergency does not mean the end of COVID-19.

“We know COVID will be around, but it’s just that next step towards normalizing society in the presence of COVID,” Larsen said.

In December 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a student vaccine mandate and a booster requirement for students at SUNY and CUNY schools for the spring 2022 semester. SUNY’s announcement marks the end of that emergency vaccine mandate. Although vaccination will no see swatting page 3 see vaccines page 3

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