The last two years have been very different due to the COVID-19 outbreak, especially for college students. From locking down, to losing an in-person semester, these past two years have been difficult for everyone. Dean was able to reopen for the spring semester with strict regulations and has been able to keep infection rates low, with positivity rates remaining at less than one percent.
Although the pandemic is not over yet, vaccines have been administered and the spread is finally starting to slow.
In the United States, millions of people have begun receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. President Biden has sped up this process and announced that all adults would be eligible for vaccines starting on April 19th. A few schools have already announced they are requiring vaccinations for the next academic semester, such as Brown, Northeastern and Notre Dame.
Dean College joined this list today, requiring vaccines for the Fall of 2021. The President of Dean, Dr. Paula Rooney announced today the vaccine would be required saying "For the health and safety of the entire Dean Community, Dean College will require all students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to the start of the Fall 2021 semester."
The majority of students at Dean seem to be unbothered by this, with an independent poll revealing seventy-nine percent of students saying they felt the vaccine was trustworthy. One student who endorsed the vaccine said, “I plan on getting the vaccine, because everyone who I know who has gotten it says that it has been working so far.”
There are both positive things and potential risks to be discussed about the COVID vaccines. Although not everyone at Dean trusts the vaccines, they have been proven to be effective so far. All three variants (Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer) have all helped to significantly reduce infection rates across the country.