The University of Michigan announced that effective Feb. 20, 2023, only UM-Ann Arbor students living in Michigan Housing are required to report COVID-19 vaccination. The policy no longer applies to students living off campus or to campus employees outside of clinical settings.
The policy changes were announced in an email message from President Santa J. Ono and Chief Health Officer Robert D. Ernst. They noted that the revisions “reflect the reality of a new phase of the pandemic,” citing the anticipated end of the federal emergency declarations and steadying regional COVID-19 activity.
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“These revisions have been made following many careful deliberations,” Ono said. “Given our community’s high level of COVID-19 vaccination, we can safely move our focus to students living in UM-Ann Arbor housing, most of whom will be new to the community this fall.”
Michigan Medicine will maintain its own policy for their students and employees. UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint strongly encourage, but do not require, that all members of their campus communities are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination and boosters.
Some schools, units, programs or third-party partners will have their own policies in place, such as vaccinations required for travel to certain international destinations or requirements for healthcare or field placements.
Part of the policy revision also requires students living in on-campus housing on the Ann Arbor campus in fall 2023 to submit proof of vaccination with the bivalent omicron booster as well as five routine childhood vaccinations by May 15.
“This puts us in line with the vast majority of Big Ten and peer institutions, and follows state requirements for K-12 students,” Ernst said. “Most students living on campus already have these childhood immunizations, and we will now be better prepared to respond in the event of an outbreak or exposure from one of these diseases. Ensuring all residents have the bivalent omicron booster also offers important protection against COVID-19.”
The university’s public health response team will continue its work in closely tracking COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases, leveraging tools and systems in place from the pandemic.
Ono and Ernst encouraged everyone to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be widely available in the fall for U-M community members and free masks and antigen tests will remain available, while supplies last, on the Ann Arbor campus. The email also announced that the Community Sampling and Tracking Program will be phased out by the end of May.
