Dear Members of the Fordham Community,
I am writing to remind you that all members of the campus community must document their COVID-19 booster and test negative for COVID-19 by Sunday, January 23, and to give you a snapshot of the number of COVID-19 cases in New York City and on campus.
The Omicron Wave
New York City is past the peak of the Omicron variant wave, as shown in the updated transmission curves for the neighborhoods around Rose Hill and Lincoln Center. By the time Fordham started class on Jan. 18, the transmission rate of COVID-19 in NYC had already dropped to 29% of the value in the city just two weeks ago.
Data Source: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/
From Jan. 13 through Jan. 19, Fordham registered 118 positive cases across the University’s on-campus communities at Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester.
As a fully vaccinated, fully boosted community, Fordham personnel have a significantly lower risk of severe illness from COVID-19: The Washington Post reports that “Booster shots in the U.S. have strongly protected against severe disease from omicron variant, CDC studies show.”
Re-Entry COVID-19 Testing
Tests must be an FDA EUA authorized PCR saliva or nasal swab. Antigen or antibody tests will not be accepted. You are not required to stay off campus while waiting to receive your test results. This testing requirement applies to all students, faculty, and staff who are vaccinated (unvaccinated individuals with an approved exemption must continue testing every 7 days as currently mandated).
What if I recently tested positive for COVID-19?
If you tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days, please upload a copy of those recent positive test results via VitalCheck, and you do not need to have a new test. VitalCheck has completed a recent upgrade allowing you to upload your positive test.
COVID-19 Vaccine Booster
All on-campus members of the University community must document a booster dose as soon as a booster is medically permissible. The CDC recommendations can be found here. This requirement applies to all students, faculty, and staff who have not been granted an exemption.
VitalCheck
There are links on the VitalCheck Daily Attestation through which you can upload the required documentation indicating you have received a booster dose and a negative COVID-19 test result by Jan. 23:
On-Campus Testing and Vaccine Availability
The University offers on-campus testing and Pfizer and Moderna booster doses: you can schedule appointments for both on the COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Resources webpage (walk-in appointments are also accepted, but your wait time may be longer).
Thank you, as always, for your cooperation in keeping our community safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Marco Valera
Vice President for Administration & COVID-19 Coordinator
