In the coming weeks, colleges will be fully reopened for the first time since 2019. Students will either get the chance to reunite with their friends or finally get a taste of real college life. However, a recent wave of COVID-19 cases propelled by the Delta variant has caused the colleges to restructure some of their guidelines upon the arrival of thousands of students.
At Tufts University, “All vaccines approved by another country or the World Health Organization (WHO) will be accepted as meeting Tufts’ requirement for vaccination. Individuals who have received a non-WHO approved vaccine may be offered one approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).” All individuals must wear masks indoors, while vaccinated individuals have the option to not wear a mask when outside. Everyone at Tufts is required to complete a COVID screening on a daily basis and a routine surveillance testing program is in place across Tufts community.
According to Tufts University Infection Control Health Director Michael R. Jordan, “In collaboration with local and state boards of health, we will continue to monitor and respond to local, national, and international data and trends. Thus, our guidance may change. However, our primary objective is to create and maintain a very positive experience for students, faculty and staff throughout the summer and into the fall.”
At Babson College, a letter from president Spinell stated that, “All members of the Babson community—regardless of vaccination status—must complete a Babson-administered PCR test within 24 hours of their first visit to campus after August 15.” Meanwhile, masks are required indoors until a negative initial Babson test result is received. Babson does not require students to be fully vaccinated, but those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students must upload a negative test within 72 hours of arrival and must wear masks indoors. In addition, they are required to attend the weekly asymptomatic testing every 7 days.
Felix Tsao, a rising freshman at Babson said, “Despite going back into college during a pandemic, I am entering a new phase of my life that I am certainly looking forward to. I am excited about babson reopening and I am curious about their COVID protocols, especially given how transmissible the l Delta variant is.”
Northeastern University was among one of the first universities in the nation to require everyone to get vaccinated. In fact, the university recently conducted a survey regarding vaccine status among employees, in which 80% of faculty and staff participated. 97% of respondents reported that they were already fully vaccinated or would be by September 2021. “The university’s management of the pandemic over the last 18 months has consistently been ahead of the curve and has allowed Northeastern to maintain safe, effective operational continuity without interrupting students’ academic progress or our research growth,” said Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern, in a message to faculty and staff on July 26. Christo Wilson, associate professor of computer science, said that the vaccination was extremely important to him. “I have small children who won’t be eligible for vaccination anytime soon;” Wilson said, “reaching herd immunity is the only way to protect my family and still regain a semblance of normal, pre-pandemic life.”
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently changed their policy to 100% capacity, which means all undergraduates and staff are back on campus this Fall. Everybody has to be vaccinated unless they have specific personal reasons. Indoor capacity has also increased compared to the spring. MIT also reduced the testing requirement from twice per week to once per week for those accessing campus regularly, and ended the moratorium on in-person events. Rising Junior Margaret Zheng said, “I am super excited about everyone coming back at full capacity. I think that MIT has done a pretty good job at controlling the COVID spread. I just hope that the general public will take the necessary steps they need to do before colleges fully open in a month.”