Despite 95% vaccination rate, Harvard made its MBA classes virtual
Harvard Business School made many of its classes virtual for one week after an uptick in positive cases on campus.
A spokesperson told 'Campus Reform' that 'contact tracers who have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus.'
Harvard Business School, which has a 95% student vaccination rate, recently moved classes online for one week despite “transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus.”
“Contact tracers who have worked with positive cases highlight that transmission is not occurring in classrooms or other academic settings on campus,” university spokesman Mark Cautela told Campus Reform.
Experts at Harvard and local health officials advised the business school to move to move all first-year and some second-year MBA students into remote learning between September 27 and October 3.
As of October 4, all students are now back to in-person learning, according to the Harvard Business School coronavirus dashboard.
The university had emailed all MBA students September 28, according to the Harvard Crimson, with a notification that 60 of their classmates were in coronavirus isolation at the time.
Of the 121 positive cases since July 1 between MBA students, around 75% of those were first-year students.
Specifically, the Crimson reports that the university shifted all required curriculum classes online in addition to one section of an elective curriculum class. The move affected first and second-year students.
In addition to class cancellations, Harvard Business School implemented a new coronavirus testing policy for students, which now requires them to be tested three times per week.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some students at the Harvard Business School believe the rise in cases is due to several recent off-campus parties in addition to a trip to Puerto Rico that several first-year students took.
The university told The Journal that they had no part in the planning of these events.
“During this time, we have also asked all students to eliminate unmasked indoor activities, limit in-person interactions with others outside their household, move all group gatherings online, and cancel group travel,” the statement read.
It continued, “We have increased the frequency of testing to three times a week and we are also preparing a new daily email to all students to keep them fully apprised of all aspects of the situation.”
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According to the university’s COVID-19 testing dashboard, 95% of students and 96% of faculty have been vaccinated.
In a similar move, Clark Atlanta University recently moved their classes online, despite 75% of campus being vaccinated, according to 11 Alive Atlanta.
President Biden recently called for a 97 or 98% vaccination rate before the nation returns to normalcy.
Campus Reform reached out to Clark Atlanta University but did not receive a response.
