EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University has announced its COVID-19 plans for the spring 2022 semester.
President Samuel Stanley outlined the plans in a letter.
"We must remain vigilant," Stanely wrote. "Even this past week we have seen an increase in cases in our community. Now is not the time to let our guard down. It is clear these measures make a difference in containing spread on campus."
The letter says all individuals will still be required to wear masks indoors and the vaccine requirement for all students, faculty and staff will remain in place with the exception of religious and medical exemptions.
New students will be required to fill out the vaccine verification form before the spring semester starts. Those who received an exemption for the fall semester will not need to request another exemption unless they had a medical exemption with an end date.
Those who receive a vaccine exemption will be required to participate in MSU's early detections program or other regular testing.
Students who have an online-only vaccine exemption will need to re-apply for the spring semester if they wish to continue learning online. Students who receive the online-only exemption "cannot come to campus for any reason."
"I know the past 20 months have been difficult for so many of us, and I realize that we all wish this pandemic was behind us," Stanley wrote. "But it’s not, and we will continue to make decisions based on our commitment to health and safety. I appreciate the efforts of our students, faculty, staff and others to protect the Spartan community."
For the week of Nov. 1, 80 cases were reported on campus by the Ingham County Health Department and MSU Physicians Office. 67 were reported through the early detection program.
90.95 percent of the MSU campus is self reported as fully vaccinated. 6.3 percent are not.