The Community Health Office (CHO) redefined its definition of being “fully vaccinated” to include the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in an email Feb. 4. The policy states that as of Feb. 1, all students are required to have received the booster shot in order to attend school on campus.

President Rick Commons said the mandate is a precaution to ensure the health of students and faculty on campus while the pandemic continues.

“We have [had] two guiding principles: to keep our community as healthy and safe as possible, and to keep school open and in-person,” Commons said. “The booster shot, based on all the data we collected, seemed to be critical to both of those things, so we decided to require it.”

Spanish teacher Veronica Cherry said she is grateful that the administration is necessitating the booster shot, as it allows students and teachers to remain on campus relatively safe from COVID-19.

“I’m thankful for the school’s commitment to keep us all as safe as possible,” Cherry said. “We’re fortunate to be able to teach and learn in an environment that places our health first, and having the booster requirement in place along with weekly testing and masking helps to give us an extra layer of protection while trying to navigate ourselves through this pandemic.”

The CHO clarified that students who are not eligible to receive the booster shot are not expected to get it, but once it is authorized for their age group, they will be given a month to get the shot before the school considers them not fully vaccinated. Additionally, students with documented medical conditions that may prevent them from getting the shot are given a grace period, or full exemption, from doing so if a physician excuses them. Students who have not received the shot will take weekly PCR COVID-19 tests, which the school is currently mandating for all students.

Illi Kreiz ’24 said she agreed with the administration’s enforcement of the booster shot, as it keeps members of the community safe.

“I think it is really important for the school to have a booster requirement,” Kreiz said. “[Requiring booster shots], in addition to [the community] properly wearing masks, helps protect the students, faculty and everyone in their lives.”