Notre Dame students cannot enroll without COVID booster: report

University of Notre Dame (ND) students received an email on Monday informing them that in order to enroll in the 2023-2024 academic year all students will be required to have a bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine. 

The email was first seen on Twitter, posted by ND post-graduate fellow Mary Frances Myler, and signed by ND’s Director of University Health Services Edward P. Junkins.

As of today, Notre Dame will require yet ANOTHER round of the vaccine for students. The pandemic ended, but the Covid Regime remains fully intact and detached from reality. pic.twitter.com/iyjlgsqwdz

— Mary Frances Myler (@mfmyler) November 15, 2022

Junkins explained that the new policy was necessary to “prevent serious illness related to coronavirus.”

The Observer, an independent newspaper at the university, also reported the new policy. 

[RELATED: Yale University requiring bivalent booster shot for spring semester]

“Bivalent booster vaccines provide an additional layer of protection against COVID-19 and, unlike previous monovalent boosters which were designed only to protect against the original virus that causes COVID-19, the updated bivalent booster vaccine protects against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the Omnicron BA-4 and BA-5 variants,” the announcement reads. 

The university also detailed plans to open a vaccination clinic for students to obtain their booster shot on campus with details coming after Thanksgiving. 

Students who receive their booster shot off campus must upload their information to the university portal. Students who use the on-campus vaccine clinic will have their information uploaded automatically. 

[RELATED: Colorado School of Mines reverses vaccine mandate following student activism]

Any student that fails to obtain the booster shot before the deadline will have a hold put on their university account preventing enrollment into the following semester. 

Students with previous exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine and subsequent booster shots are not required to file for a new exemption. 

Junkins also encouraged students to receive the booster before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays but have until March 1, 2023, to meet the requirement. 

Campus Reform contacted Junkins, Notre Dame, and Myler. This article will be updated accordingly. 

Follow @kliseanderson on Twitter.