What’s New
The American College Health Association released the results of a new survey this week examining how colleges are planning to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 this fall.
- A majority of the more than 300 colleges that responded said they are strongly recommending that students be vaccinated against the virus. One-fifth said they are requiring some or all students to be vaccinated.
- Half of colleges plan to offer Covid vaccines on campus this fall.
- Thirty-eight percent of colleges plan to have students who test positive for Covid isolate in their residence. Eleven percent plan to offer free isolation housing on or off campus. Some institutions plan to make accommodations depending on students’ financial need.
The Stakes
This fall will be the first academic year since the ending of the federal public-health emergency for Covid. While the virus is still circulating, the pandemic as it has been defined by the U.S. government is effectively over. Colleges have largely shifted to a post-pandemic stance, with in-person classes and no mask mandates.
Federal and state data collection on the virus has been drastically reduced, said Claudia Trevor-Wright, project director of the American College Health Association’s Campus Covid-19 Vaccination and Mitigation Initiative. “In some ways, we are really going to be flying blind,” Trevor-Wright said.
The Backdrop
Much of the federal financial support for Covid mitigation is also ending. Covid test kits and vaccines may soon become cost prohibitive for many students.
The American College Health Association was among more than 200 organizations that received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for building trust in the Covid vaccines; the newly released survey of colleges was part of the ACHA’s vaccine-confidence program. But the funding was cut as part of the recent congressional deal to raise the national debt ceiling.
With that support, the ACHA has been able to provide colleges with data, benchmarks, and best practices for dealing with Covid on campus and for promoting uptake of vaccines, Trevor-Wright said.
What to Watch For
Trevor-Wright said she’ll be keeping an eye on a key indicator: Are campus health professionals being included in institutional decision making on Covid? The ACHA survey found that 78 percent of respondents agreed that campus health-center leaders were being included.
But once the association’s Covid program shuts down at the end of September, she said, “colleges are going to have to hold their own.”
