LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The California State University system will require all students, faculty and staff members to get their COVID-19 booster shot before returning to campus for the spring 2022 semester, CSU officials announced Wednesday.
CSU’s updated vaccination policy calls for boosters to be received by Feb. 28, or six months after an individual received the final dose of the original vaccination, officials said, noting individual campuses may establish an earlier date for compliance for students and non-represented employees based on local circumstances.
“Vaccination, including a booster when eligible, remains our most effective strategy against infection and severe disease," CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said in a statement. “This is particularly important in light of the rapid rise of cases of COVID-19 throughout the state and nation as the Omicron variant spreads. Implementing the booster requirement now will help mitigate the potential spread of the variant on campuses as they repopulate in January after the winter break."
The updated police still allows students and employees to seek exemptions on medical and religious grounds.
Officials said represented employees will not be subjected to the booster requirement until the CSU concludes its meet-and-confer process with its labor unions.
CSU, the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, made its announcement a day after the University of California system made a similar policy change to require booster shots.
CSU has 23 campuses, 56,000 employees, and 477,000 students.
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