Michigan State University mandates COVID-19 vaccine booster

EAST LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Michigan State University students, faculty, and staff will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster beginning in the spring 2022 semester.

This is an expansion of the university's vaccine mandate it announced over the summer.

University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said in a letter that the CDC's recommendation that everyone 16 and older get the booster and the discovery of the Omicron variant in Michigan led to the decision.

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Students, faculty, and staff who fail to receive a booster when eligible will be considered noncompliant with MSU’s vaccine directives. 

According to the university's website, students who do not comply with vaccination mandates are not allowed on campus. Employees who do not comply could face discipline, including termination.

Boosters are recommended by the CDC six months after your last shot if you received a two-dose vaccine or two months after your one-shot vaccination if you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Those who already have religious or medical exemptions will remain exempt from the booster requirement. Students who are online-only may also request an exemption for spring 2022. 

The university said it will be updating the vaccine verification form to allow individuals to record their boosters.

The University of Michigan also announced a vaccine booster mandate on Friday.