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Virginia Tech students, employees required to receive booster, COVID-19 test for spring semester

Virus Outbreak Booster Shots
Posted at 4:04 PM, Dec 28, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-28 16:11:33-05

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech has announced that all students and staff are now required to receive booster shots at the start of the spring semester.

Tech's President, Tim Sands, announced Tuesday that the university is now requiring booster shots within 14 days of eligibility for all students and employees.

If eligible now, updated information is due by Feb. 1. If not eligible yet, students and employees are asked to schedule the booster as soon as possible.

Procedures remain in place for students and employees to request medical and religious exemptions and existing exemptions will be honored.

All residential students will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result before moving back onto campus. A PCR or Antigen test will be accepted and must be administered no more than 72 hours before returning to campus.

Testing will be provided for those students who cannot obtain a test before arriving.

Everyone that has traveled over the holiday break is asked to take a COVID-19 test prior to the start of the semester. Testing for students and employees will resumeat VT on January 3.

We will continue to test unvaccinated students and employees weekly and conduct limited surveillance testing of vaccinated community members. Those with updated vaccination records including a booster will be exempt.

The President has announced that masks will also be required indoors for at least the beginning of the semester. The current isolation and quarantine plan for students on campus will remain the same for spring.

"We all wish that this pandemic was over and moved into the background of our everyday lives. But for now, we must continue to ask for the same extraordinary patience, understanding, and commitment you’ve displayed over the past 21 months. The actions we take today build on last semester’s successful strategy and give us the best opportunity to protect our community and maintain the Virginia Tech campus experience we all hope for this spring. Together we can get there," President Sands said.