N.Y. Mandates Boosters for CUNY, SUNY Students Before January Return

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new mandate for students at state-run universities, requiring booster doses before they return to campus in January.

The new mandate covers more than half a million students at the State University of New York and the City University of New York systems. They are already required to be fully vaccinated.

Hochul also imposed a new vaccine requirement for faculty at the two school systems, until now exempt from any mandate.

Students who are not far enough removed from earlier doses will be asked to get the additional shot as soon as they are eligible. They will also be required to show a negative test to return to campus, wear masks in public indoor spaces and be subject to random testing all semester, Hochul said, emphasizing the importance of keeping these schools open.

“When a community college shuts down, or a SUNY school or CUNY school shuts down, that's devastating for the local economy,” Hochul said at a Friday news conference.

The new requirements go into place on Jan. 15.

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New York state now has one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the U.S. The state reported 76,555 positive cases on Thursday, 7,919 hospitalizations and 80 deaths. New infections hit another record high for pandemic on Thursday.

Still, Hochul emphasized the measures in place to fight the virus, touting increased test capacity, mask distribution and the importance of residents' continuing to get vaccines and booster shots. She identified 5- to 11-year-olds as a vulnerable population, citing the low vaccination rates for children, and urged parents to get their kids shots.

“I know a lot of people didn't want to be first, didn't want to be second, but hundreds of thousands of children have been vaccinated and vaccinated safely,” she said.

New York State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett also used the press conference to petition the federal government for more antiviral drugs to help those who contract the virus. So far the state has received 3,180 doses of Pfizer Inc.'s Paxlovid treatment pill. That supply has been distributed across the state, but it's far from what's necessary, Bassett said. For example, the allocation for New York City is being held in a single pharmacy.