Harvard University

Harvard Announces New COVID Booster Requirement

Harvard University students who intend to be on campus from January onward and who do not have religious or medical exemptions will be required to receive the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster

In a file photo, a sculler rows on the Charles River past the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Harvard University, established in 1636, is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
File--Bloomberg via Getty Images

Students attending classes at Harvard University early next year will be required to receive the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster.

All students who will be on campus from January onward and who do not have religious or medical exemptions must have received the new booster, which targets the omicron variant and its subvariants.

The announcement was made Monday by Dr. Giang Nguyen, associate provost for campus health, according to an email from Suzanne Spreadbury, dean of academic programs at the Harvard Extension School.

Eligible students who were previously compliant with Harvard's vaccine requirement will no longer be compliant unless they received the new booster after Sept. 1, Spreadbury noted.

Harvard University Health Services will offer the booster this fall by appointment only. Students can schedule their shots here.

Spreadbury said students who receive their boosters through the school's health program will have their documentation updated automatically — if you get the vaccine elsewhere, you can update your status with Harvard here.

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