The network’s expanded reach is the result of its recent designation as a (CDC) Northeast Region Center of Excellence. The designation recognizes the network’s exemplary performance in the early detection and monitoring of communicable diseases as well as the innovative research coming from Larsen’s group. It also provides the new Center of Excellence with $1 million in CDC funding. Approximately $500,000 of that amount will support the University’s continuing affiliated operations and research.

David Larsen

, public health department chair and professor in the��, is gratified by the recognition, which is a nod to the program’s vast potential.

“I had a vision for the New York State Water Surveillance Network, but to be named a federal CDC Center of Excellence is just a real honor,” Larsen says. “What we’re doing now is building systems that will keep people healthier; operational processes that let people live more freely and improve the public health response are the ultimate goal.”

Larsen, members of his research team and their partner in the network, the ) and its , met earlier this month to formalize goals for their work with the CDC.

Early Response

Not long after COVID-19 was named a global pandemic, Larsen assembled a team of researchers from the Falk College, the , the and to begin developing the wastewater surveillance technology that would eventually become critical to New York State’s response to the disease. The team built a grassroots network that included sewage treatment plant operators, lab technicians and public health program workers to collect sewage samples, test for coronavirus, and report and share results.

The initiative first benefited Onondaga County and the University and soon expanded through the NYS DOH partnership. Today, the New York State network operates in all 62 counties and covers a population of more than 15 million. Testing has expanded beyond COVID to aid response to polio, mpox, influenza, RSV, hepatitis A, norovirus and antimicrobial-resistant genes.��

Essential Partnership

A total of $43 million, including $28 million from the CDC and $15 million from New York State, has already been invested in the state’s disease wastewater surveillance efforts, according to Daniel Lang, NYS DOH deputy director of the . He says the program’s efficacy and extensive operational network distinguished it for selection as a CDC Center of Excellence.

“Our partnership with ���ϲ����� was essential right from the start of the pandemic,” Lang says. “We worked with Dave Larsen’s team to establish a comprehensive statewide wastewater surveillance program, an impressive tool we didn’t have before. It provides universal coverage to assess disease trends and detect where variants are popping up, plus a system that reports back to community participants. Now, we’ll be able to expand the expertise we’ve developed here to other jurisdictions around the country.”

Professor David Larsen, standing, addresses workers from the New York State Department of Health who visited to plan strategy with the University’s research team for their work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Photo by Cathleen O’Hare)

Bryon Backenson, NYS DOH director of the , says the detection of communicable disease spread through wastewater surveillance is groundbreaking science “because it doesn’t rely on the fickleness of whether people go to the doctor or not when they’re sick. We can only affect what we find out about. Awareness of the presence of disease allows us to sound the alarm, to take action and notify others to take action, allowing us to minimize the spread of disease.”

Backenson says the CDC designation “shows that we are a leader in this, and it allows us the resources to train others in what we do. Now, we’ll be teaching other cities, counties and regions.��We’re proud to be part of it.”

As the CDC Northeast Region Center of Excellence, the team’s work will support several New England states plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The researchers and health officials also want to coordinate with the CDC’s five other wastewater surveillance Centers of Excellence comprising the . They plan to share research and offer education and training on their operating protocols, efforts that could benefit communities throughout the U.S. and potentially impact disease-detection work globally.

Global Potential

Larsen’s research on infectious disease surveillance and the public health response to these threats will also help people around the globe.��He recently completed a program in Austria at the Medical University of Innsbruck where he worked with the Austrian wastewater surveillance network. He also spoke about the approach at a technology roundtable at the White House last month.

Wastewater testing research was underway by Larsen’s research team in the early days of COVID-19.

Larsen’s team is now transitioning program operations to NYS DOH, which will permit the researchers to refocus on how these systems can support public health responses to infectious diseases and “dive deeper to maximize the benefits of the systems,” he says.

“Public health functions dealing with infectious disease surveillance alert us to when a community is at increased risk and also confirm when a community is no longer at risk,” Larsen says. “Wastewater test results provide awareness of both aspects and key information needed to decide whether to close down community operations or keep them open and operating. Wastewater is a great way to gauge these elements and may be one of the most cost-effective ways to confirm levels of community risk.”

The three-year grant supports the creation of a unique oral history archive and course development focused on the history and ethics of public health pandemic response and faculty and doctoral student training that centers humanities knowledge and methods.

From left: Marian Moser Jones, Amy Fairchild and Cheryl Healton

The educational and research resource will create “new, urgently needed, accessible opportunities for the humanities to speak to public health and broaden access to humanities higher learning opportunities,” says , professor at the Maxwell School, who is principal investigator (PI). Co-PIs are , associate professor of health services management and policy at The Ohio State University, and , founding dean and professor of public health policy and management at the School of Global Public Health at New York University (NYU).

The research team has already conducted nearly 100 interviews with state and local health officials, delving into their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A planned third phase of the oral history initiative will result in approximately 150 interviews from 40 states and two territories that will become part of a digital archive, “Stewards in the Storm,” housed at ���ϲ�����’s .

Widespread public and political backlash against protective health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—and against those who were trying to implement those measures—has had a lasting impact on public health, including ongoing staff shortages and attempts to sharply curtail public health authorities needed to preserve life. In their initial rounds of interviews, the research team found that 36 percent of health officials reported receiving death threats, and 24 percent reported serious threats to their families—with women and people of color more likely to receive such threats.

The third round of interviews is important, Healton says, “because it ensures a resource with a broad, nationally inclusive sample that both researchers and instructors can use to conduct reliable, valid research and to develop strong humanities content in courses that reach both public health and humanities students.”

In addition to expanding the interviews, the researchers also plan to establish a hands-on “Backlash Lab” that will introduce students to the history and ethics of public health, oral history interviewing techniques, qualitative coding strategies and techniques, and quantitative analysis. The lab, anchored at ���ϲ�����, Ohio State and NYU, will also create partnerships with colleges that have historically served Black, Hispanic or first-generation students. Students will code interviews and write case studies to be used in undergraduate and graduate courses as well as professional settings.

Additionally, a survey course, Pandemics: History, Ethics, Politics and Policy, will be developed collaboratively and offered at ���ϲ�����, Ohio State, NYU and Cornell University, with the aim of extending it to other collaborating institutions and other schools and programs in public health. The course aims to cut across public health, public policy and the humanities with a focus on history, medical sociology and communications.

In years two and three of the project, the team will run two workshops for scholars teaching public health and humanities at community and four-year colleges and universities across the country, with a focus on institutions that have public health schools or programs. The workshops will introduce teachers to the techniques of oral history, suggest ways to work with the archive and extend the reach of the new course.

The project capitalizes on synergies between public health and the humanities and addresses common gaps in knowledge about public health history. “As important as easy access to primary documents related to pandemic responses are, we can further illuminate broader historical themes that enrich both the humanities and the field of public health by providing insight into peoples’ lived experiences of pandemics and pandemic response,” Moser Jones says.

“This rich body of narrative history does more than create qualitative data through oral history methods,” Fairchild adds. “Rather, it uses the experience of the pandemic as a lens that can clarify and contextualize the continuing climate of pandemic-associated backlash that has ongoing repercussions for pragmatic efforts to confront population health challenges, from reproductive rights to climate change. It is primarily the foundation for humanistic investigation into the ways in which governmental responses to crises are social products and reflect the societies in which people live and die.”

In work that was recently published in the ““,�����ϲ����� researchers quantify how much the pandemic measures and economic policies impacted those rates. The findings provide answers to lawmakers and health leaders about future health policies and the unintended consequences that come with certain health measures, even if those measures were intended to save lives.

faculty members and researchers , , , ��and led the study, while former ���ϲ����� postdoctoral student Xue Zhang and National Institute on Drug Abuse program scientist Elyse Grossman also contributed.

Professors Wolf and Monnat sat down to discuss the main findings of the work.

Douglas Wolf

Q: What were the key findings that you discovered in this study?

Douglas Wolf: There are three main conclusions supported by this study:

1. The increases in drug overdose mortality observed in many states during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have been exacerbated by state policies intended to control the spread of the virus—policies that restricted in-person activities, travel and business;

2. State policies intended to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic—for example, expanded unemployment benefits—appear also to have reduced drug overdose mortality; and

3. While the two types of policies had opposite effects, no states imposed economic support policies sufficient to fully offset the harmful consequences of the restrictions on individual and business activity.

Q: Did lockdowns have an unintended consequence of increasing drug overdose deaths?

Wolf: Yes, lockdown policies appear to have contributed to an increase in drug overdose deaths. This could have occurred due to loss of employment and income, adverse mental health outcomes, reduced access to treatment and harm reduction services, an inadequate supply of EMS responders, reductions in interdiction of illicit drugs or an increase in solitary drug use.

Q: Do you find any examples of economic support policies that worked better than others in reducing overdose rates?

Wolf: No, we are unable to separate the effects of expanded unemployment benefits and moratoria on evictions and foreclosures, which were the two main types of economic support policies.

Q: How can public health officials best address the needs of people struggling with addiction during public health emergencies like the pandemic?

Shannon Monnat

Shannon Monnat: Crises in general, not just the COVID-19 pandemic, tend to amplify the risk factors for overdose. In the short term, reducing overdose risk among people who are already struggling with substance use disorders requires ensuring widespread and easy access to Narcan–the overdose reversal drug. However, we can’t Narcan our way out of the drug overdose crisis. The most forward-thinking and effective strategy to reduce overdoses in the long term is to reduce the upstream social and economic factors that lead people to use drugs and become addicted. At its core, this means making sure our society is set up in a way that provides opportunities for people to engage in activities–work, family and community–that bring purpose and meaning to their lives.

Q: Four years later–what are the biggest takeaways from your work that could be applied to the next pandemic response?

Monnat: As with all policies, there are tradeoffs. Our finding that restrictive policies were associated with larger increases in drug overdoses must be considered within a broader context of their reductions in COVID-19 mortality. These policies certainly saved lives. People who would have otherwise contracted and died from COVID lived because these policies reduced disease spread. We should all be grateful for that. But we must also acknowledge that some of these policies had the unintended consequence of cutting other lives short. The challenge for policymakers is to find the ideal balance that will save the most lives possible.

You can view and the .

To get in touch with researchers or to get more information, please contact:

Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
University Communications
315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu��|��

Chris Munoz
Media Relations Specialist
University Communications
315.278.5566
cjmunoz@syr.edu

I am writing today to provide an important update on new guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and subsequently adopted by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). The new guidance, as outlined below, revises response protocols for when an individual tests positive for COVID-19.

New Guidance

• Continue to stay home if sick: If you test positive for COVID-19, you are encouraged to stay home if you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, cough and other known respiratory virus symptoms.
• No longer mandated to isolate: Those with COVID-19 are no longer required to isolate for five days. Instead, according to the NYSDOH, “individuals can go back to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both of the following are true:
  • symptoms are getting better overall, and
  • they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medication.”
• No longer required to report a positive test: Students and faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 are no longer required to report that positive test to the Barnes Center and Human Resources, respectively.

How to keep yourself and those around you healthy!

Although isolation and vaccination are no longer required, COVID-19 continues to be present and causes varying degrees of illness. There are several ways you can keep yourself and those around you healthy, including:

• Get vaccinated: We encourage our community to consider vaccinations against common communicable illnesses, including COVID-19. Students, faculty and staff can search locations offering COVID-19 vaccinations using the . The COVID-19 vaccine is available in the pharmacy at the Barnes Center. Please use the patient portal to make an appointment.
• Monitor for COVID-like symptoms: If you’re a student, contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000 if you are concerned about your symptoms. Barnes Center staff will direct you on what actions to take next. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.
• Stay home: If you’re experiencing COVID-like symptoms, including a fever, stay home.
• Wear a mask: If you are feeling under the weather, consider wearing a mask to limit the spread of your symptoms. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask is welcome to do so and should be supported.
• Exercise good hygiene habits: Cover your cough and sneezes. Wash your hands often. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently, especially your residence hall rooms.

The University appreciates your continued cooperation and commitment to a safe and healthy environment for all members of our community. To learn more about public health guidance, please visit the .

Wishing you a successful end to the spring semester.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Raina
Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

The (PJP) offers insight into people’s lives and experiences from May 2020 to 2022 in 55 countries through nearly 27,000 online journal entries of text, images, and audio.

The publication of the data is the result of a multi-year collaboration between the PJP team, led by anthropologists Associate Professor Sarah S. Willen of the University of Connecticut and Associate Professor Katherine A. Mason of Brown University, and the (QDR) at the Maxwell School of ���ϲ�����.

The resulting collection is unique in its breadth and potential for use and re-use by researchers in anthropology, sociology, history and public health, among other fields.

“There are several large quantitative surveys in the social sciences that are broadly used,” says Sebastian Karcher, Associate Director of QDR. “But qualitative datasets that are large enough to be analyzed from so many different angles are very, very rare. The PJP data are going to be a treasure for social scientists for years to come, and we at QDR couldn’t be more excited to be the permanent home for them.”

To ensure that the data from the Pandemic Journaling Project would be accessible to future researchers, the team regularly consulted with QDR’s experts on questions ranging from file organization to ethics.

“We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to share these data widely and archive them for the future,” says Mason. “We were so lucky to be able to connect with Sebastian and the QDR team early in the process so that we could make sure that we were able to do so as ethically and effectively as possible.”

The PJP empowers people to chronicle their own experiences in order to create a record for the future. The resulting archive can help researchers understand how people lived — and reflected on their lives—during this time.

“Each journal, and each person’s story, matters on its own terms,” Willen says. “Taken together, this collection of materials offers an extraordinary real-time window onto how the pandemic challenged us and changed us, not just as individuals but also as members of broader communities.”

Already the data have been used to explore a wide variety of questions, ranging from the impact of the pandemic on different groups’ mental health, to students’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe, to the human rights dimensions of the project itself, which the PJP team describes as a form of “archival activism.”

Associate Professor of Anthropology Michelle Parsons at Northern Arizona University, one of the earliest outside scholars to work with the data, said that the “PJP data—thousands of journal entries through time—are unique, offering a window into people’s changing experiences and emotions during a turbulent time. Also, it has been such a pleasure collaborating with the PJP team and with other scholars analyzing the data.”

To protect participants, access to the full PJP data on QDR requires prior approval—requests can be submitted directly from the once the website goes live on Feb. 15.

A significant subset of more than 2,000 entries also are publicly available for searching and browsing by anyone on the Featured Entries page of the PJP website: .

At the start of this new semester, I want to welcome our newest community members and welcome back our returning students, faculty and staff. As coordinator of the University’s ongoing response efforts to communicable illnesses, such as COVID-19 and influenza, I want to provide some reminders that can help keep you and our community healthy.

COVID-19

Although no longer considered a public health emergency, COVID-19 continues to be present and cause varying degrees of illness. There are several ways you can protect yourself and our community from COVID-19:

• Although vaccination is no longer required for residential students, we encourage our community to consider vaccinations against common communicable illnesses, including COVID. Students, faculty and staff can search locations offering COVID vaccinations using the . COVID vaccine is available in the pharmacy at the Barnes Center. Please use the to make an appointment.
• Monitor for COVID-like symptoms. If you’re a student, contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000 if you’re exhibiting symptoms. Barnes Center staff will direct you on what actions to take next. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.
  • To learn more about what steps to take if you test positive for COVID, please visit the .
• If you are feeling sick, consider wearing a mask to limit the spread of your symptoms. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask is welcome to do so and should be supported.
• Cover your cough and sneezes.
• Wash your hands often.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently, especially your residence hall rooms.

The University will also continue to:

• Provide broad access to at-home COVID test kits for residential students, faculty and staff (low-cost tests are available through ; tests will no longer be sold at the pharmacy);
  • COVID test kits now available in the vending machines have an expiration date of August 2025.
  • COVID test kits with an expiration date of February 2024 are being made available free of cost on a first-come-first-serve basis until supplies last at the information desk in the Schine Student Center and the Goldstein Student Center on South Campus.
• Conduct enhanced cleaning and ventilation of campus facilities; and
• Support students who test positive that are asked to isolate in their residence hall room or in their off-campus residence. For more information on the updated isolation protocols, please visit .

Influenza

These winter months are a peak time for influenza activity. Please keep in mind the following health practices:

• We strongly encourage our community members to get a flu shot to protect themselves and those around them during flu season. ��Students can schedule a flu shot at the Barnes Center pharmacy by using the patient portal at myhealth.syr.edu.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are feeling sick, limit your contact with others as much as possible. Students should contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash your hands often.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Avoid sharing cups, utensils, lip balm, etc.
• Clean and disinfect regularly touched surfaces and objects.
• If you have the flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends staying home for at least 24 hours after a fever is gone, without the need for a fever-reducing medicine.

To learn more about any of these illnesses, please visit the .

I wish you a healthy, fulfilling and enjoyable spring semester.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Raina
Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Public Health postdoctoral researcher Dustin Hill.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a burden on the U.S. health care system since its arrival in early 2020. COVID remains a threat to our communities, particularly during the winter months when new cases and hospitalizations are likely to surge. The ability to predict where and when new patients will be admitted to hospitals is essential for planning and resource allocation.

“Our findings indicate that wastewater surveillance improves prediction models for hospitalizations by 11 percent over models that use case data at the county level and by 15 percent for regional hospitalization estimates,” says Hill, an environmental data scientist and epidemiologist who works in the in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. “When looking at how many beds a hospital has available, those percentages can make a big difference in whether that hospital is going to have space for new patients or not, and this data can help them get ready for changes.”

Hill led a project that used wastewater surveillance data in predictive models to improve estimates for new COVID hospital admissions in New York state. The research team’s results were published recently in the peer-reviewed journal and were gathered in collaboration with State University of New York at Albany, University at Buffalo, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Stony Brook University and the New York State Department of Health.

Throughout the pandemic, hospitalization forecasting models have relied heavily on clinical data collected from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen tests. But this data can be biased because of a lack of widespread testing and may not be quick enough to indicate a surge.

In their study, the researchers combined wastewater surveillance data (how much SARS-CoV-2 is found in wastewater) with clinical case and comorbidity data to predict the seven-day average of new hospital admissions 10 days after the wastewater sample collection.

Pruthvi Kilaru, who earned his master’s of public health in 2020 and is now a third-year medical student at Des Moines University in Iowa, is shown here in 2020 collecting wastewater near the Women’s Building for COVID-19 testing.

Wastewater data are being collected across New York state through the , and that data can be used to continuously update forecasting predictions each week. According to the research, the average difference between predicted hospitalizations and observed hospitalizations was 0.013 per 100,000 population, or 1.3 in 10,000,000 population, providing high accuracy.

The New York State Wastewater Surveillance Network is testing for COVID in at least one wastewater treatment plant in each of the state’s 62 counties, covering a population of more than 15.3 million. The provides the most recent statistics regarding the network.

The research team is exploring how their methods to predict COVID hospitalizations can be further refined and applied to other infectious diseases such as RSV and influenza as wastewater surveillance expands to cover these public health threats.

“Predicting future hospitalizations using wastewater data helps get our public health partners in front of surges before they happen so they are prepared when new patients need to be admitted and can distribute resources accordingly,” Hill says. “The methods we developed here are going to be instrumental for tracking the diseases we already know about, and perhaps even more important for the diseases that could arise in the future.”

In today’s update I will address:

• COVID Tests Available by Mail and On Campus
• Vaccination Opportunities for Students
• Vaccination Opportunities for Faculty/Staff

COVID Tests Available by Mail and On Campus

This fall, every U.S. household may place an order to receive four free COVID-⁠19 rapid tests delivered directly to their home. Visit to order your supply today.

Vending machines offering low-cost, self-administered tests continue to be available across campus. To find out where they are located, visit . Tests can also be purchased through the Barnes Center Pharmacy.

Note: The Flowflex tests available from campus vending machines have expiration dates that have been extended through January 2024. The current expiration date for any at-home test can be looked up by referencing the lot number on the packaging on the .

Vaccination Opportunities for Students

On-campus flu vaccine clinics for students, offered through the Barnes Center, begin next week and will run through November. Students should visit the to see available dates and times and schedule their appointment.

Due to nationwide shipping delays, the Barnes Center does not currently have a supply of the latest COVID-19 vaccine. For immediate access, students should visit to search in their area or visit a local pharmacy, many of which have a supply of the COVID vaccine.

Vaccination Opportunities for Faculty and Staff

The next on-campus flu vaccine clinic for faculty and staff, offered through Human Resources in partnership with Wegmans Pharmacy, is Wednesday, Oct. 25. .

Similar to the Barnes Center, Wegmans is also impacted by the nationwide shipping delays of the COVID vaccine. Wegmans was able to offer a limited supply of COVID vaccines at last Friday’s employee flu clinic and will continue to offer them, as available, to faculty and staff registered for on-campus flu vaccine clinics. There is no guarantee of COVID vaccine availability. When supplies improve, additional faculty/staff clinics offering both flu and COVID vaccines will be announced.

In the meantime, faculty and staff can elect to receive vaccines at their doctor’s office and/or local pharmacies. Faculty, staff and their dependents enrolled in the University’s employee health plan can obtain free vaccines at in-network pharmacies, or through their participating provider’s office, by showing their Excellus BlueCross BlueShield or Optum Rx identification cards. With questions, contact HR Shared Services at 315.443.4042 or hrservice@syr.edu.

The University continues to monitor all developments related to COVID, influenza and other communicable diseases. As always, you will continue to receive messages if there is any new or pertinent public health information to share.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Raina
Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

A short time ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved a new round of COVID vaccinations. As ���ϲ����� has in the past, we will be once again offering COVID vaccine clinics, as well as flu shot clinics, on campus. The University does not yet have a supply of the new COVID vaccine doses; however, once we know when they will arrive, we will share a schedule of clinics with our campus community.

As I mentioned in my last email on Aug. 23, I will be periodically providing important public health information and reminders to help our students, faculty and staff keep themselves and those around them informed and healthy. Today, I want to share a few brief reminders about the following areas:

1. How to report a positive COVID test
2. Student isolation protocols and procedures
3. Staying healthy this cold and flu season

How to report a positive COVID test

If you test positive for COVID, we ask that you immediately self-report and take the appropriate action.

• Students: If you are a student who takes in-person classes on campus, you must report a positive COVID test. To do so, please visit the Barnes Center at The Arch website and . If you test positive during a health visit to the Barnes Center, this information will be entered by your provider. More information on student isolation protocols and procedures is included below.
• Faculty/Staff: If you receive a positive test result, please notify your supervisor and HR Shared Services by phone at 315.443.4042. Following notification, if you are symptomatic, you are required to isolate for five days. If you are asymptomatic or if your symptoms resolve after five days, you may exit isolation. If your symptoms persist, you should wait until you are fever free. Once you are fever free, you may exit isolation. All those exiting isolation should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for an additional five days.

If you have any questions about what you should do in the event of a positive COVID test, please visit our and review the .

Student isolation protocols and procedures

As a reminder, students who test positive for COVID are required to follow isolation protocols and procedures. This means isolating in your residence—either on campus or off—and taking the necessary precautions to keep those around you safe. We encourage our students to follow the guidance of the CDC for best practices as it relates to isolating. This means remaining home for five days; wearing a high-quality mask if you must be around others while home; avoiding sharing any personal items like cups, towels and utensils; using a separate bathroom (if possible) and staying away from your roommates as much as possible. To learn more about our isolation protocols and procedures, visit the .

We know how important it is to maintain your academic efforts, even while under the weather. Upon notifying the Barnes Center of your positive COVID test, we will work with you to ensure you have access to the services and resources you need to continue your studies.

Staying healthy this cold and flu season

There are a number of steps you can take to stay healthy this cold and flu season, and to avoid becoming ill with COVID. They are the following:

1. Get vaccinated! The most important step you can take to prevent serious illness is to get your vaccines. This includes the COVID and influenza vaccines. To find a vaccine clinic near you, visit .
2. Monitor for COVID- and cold/flu-like symptoms. If you’re a student experiencing symptoms, please take a home COVID test as your first step. If you test positive, please take the action as described above. If you test negative, but your symptoms persist, contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000. Barnes Center staff will direct you on what actions to take next. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.
3. If you are feeling under the weather, stay home! If you have to be around people, wear a mask to limit the spread of your symptoms. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask is welcome to do so and should be supported.
4. Cover your cough and sneezes.
5. Wash your hands often.
6. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
7. Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently, especially your residence hall rooms.
8. Avoid sharing cups, utensils, lip balm, etc.

The University continues to monitor all developments related to COVID, influenza and other communicable diseases. As always, you will continue to receive messages throughout the semester if there is any new or pertinent public health information to share.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Raina
Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

On behalf of everyone at ���ϲ�����, I am delighted to welcome our new community members to the Orange family and welcome our returning students, faculty and staff back to campus. I will be coordinating the University’s ongoing response efforts to the various communicable illnesses we face in a communal living setting, including COVID-19 and influenza, among others this academic year. As we start the fall semester, I am writing to share public health reminders that can help keep you and those around you healthy this semester.

COVID-19

Although the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic declaration ended earlier this year, the illness remains present. As such, we hope you will continue to take necessary steps to protect yourself and our community from COVID-19. Please be sure to continue taking these simple actions:

• Vaccination is no longer a requirement for residential students; however, we encourage our community to consider vaccinations against common communicable illnesses, including COVID. COVID vaccination clinics for students, faculty and staff can be searched at the .
• Monitor for COVID-like symptoms. If you’re a student, contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000 if you’re exhibiting symptoms. Barnes Center staff will direct you on what actions to take next. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.
• If you are feeling under the weather, consider wearing a mask to limit the spread of your symptoms. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask is welcome to do so and should be supported.
• Cover your cough and sneezes.
• Wash your hands often.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently, especially your residence hall rooms.

The University will also continue to:

• Provide broad access to at-home COVID test kits for residential students, faculty and staff (low-cost tests are available through );
• Conduct enhanced cleaning and ventilation of campus facilities; and
• Implement isolation protocols for students who test positive for COVID. Students who test positive will be asked to isolate in their residence hall room or in their off campus residence. For more information on the updated isolation protocols, please visit .

Influenza

Like other universities, and other communal living environments, we may experience an uptick in influenza cases later in the fall semester. Please keep in mind the following health practices as the semester goes on:

• Consider getting a flu shot! We strongly encourage our community members to get a flu shot to protect themselves and those around them during flu season. The University hosts flu clinics each fall semester; information regarding flu clinics will be shared in the next several weeks.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are feeling sick, limit your contact with others as much as possible and contact the Barnes Center at 315.443.8000.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash your hands often.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Avoid sharing cups, utensils, chapstick, etc.
• Clean and disinfect regularly touched surfaces and objects.
• If you have the flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends staying home for at least 24 hours after a fever is gone, without the need for a fever-reducing medicine.

To learn more about any of these illnesses, I encourage you to visit the .

I recognize I am sharing a lot of information with you. Employing these good health practices can also help prevent widespread illness on our campus this academic year.

I wish you a healthy, fulfilling and enjoyable fall semester.

Sincerely,

Ramesh Raina
Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

I am writing today to share an important update to the University’s public health guidelines.

On Thursday, May 11, 2023, the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency expired. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicates that the health emergency declaration will not be renewed, citing a dramatic decline in new COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations since January of 2022.

Given the end of the federal health emergency, and in consultation with Barnes Center medical staff and local health officials, effective today, May 15, 2023, ���ϲ����� students, faculty and staff are no longer required to be vaccinated for the virus that causes COVID-19. This includes new students, faculty and staff, who will not be required to demonstrate proof of vaccination as a condition of attendance or employment.

This amended policy is consistent with similar actions recently announced by most of our peer institutions in New York state, including the State University of New York (SUNY) system and Cornell University, and others across the United States. Although the University will no longer require a COVID-19 vaccination, we strongly encourage all students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others from illness. Vaccination is a proven, effective method to help reduce or mitigate the adverse health effects of COVID-19. For that reason, the University will sponsor free, on-campus vaccination clinics for residential students, faculty and staff in late summer and early fall.

Continuing Resources and Protocols

While the University will no longer mandate vaccination as a condition of residential attendance or employment, we remain committed to monitoring and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 among our community. To that end, we will continue past practices related to several important COVID-19 resources and protocols proven to support health and well-being on campus and in the community. These include:

• Providing broad access to at-home COVID test kits for residential students, faculty and staff.
• Hosting free COVID-19 vaccination clinics for residential students, faculty and staff.
• Continuing enhanced cleaning and ventilation of campus facilities.
• Extending COVID-19 vaccination coverage for faculty and staff with health insurance through the University. For further information on how certain COVID-related services are covered by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield/Optum Rx, visit the SU News story.
• A commitment to ongoing monitoring and communication with students, faculty and staff.

For further information about the University’s COVID-19 response and guidelines, please visit .

Thank you once again for your commitment to each other and to our ���ϲ����� community. My best wishes for a healthy, restful and productive summer.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

• COVID-19 vaccines (including boosters) will be covered in full with no cost share if received from an in-network provider or pharmacy. Vaccines that are received from an out-of-network provider will be subject to a cost share in the form of deductible, coinsurance and/or copay.
• COVID-19 lab-based tests, treatment and related services will be covered under the plan, subject to the same cost share provisions that apply to other services.
• COVID-19 at-home tests will not be covered under the plan. Faculty and staff who contribute to a Health Care Flexible Spending Account may be reimbursed from their account for the purchase of a test kit.

For specific questions about coverage through Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS), contact the University’s dedicated customer care team at Excellus BCBS at��800.493.0318 (TTY: 800.662.1220)��Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET and Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET or by email to��cc.select.dedicated@excellus.com. Inquiries about faculty/staff prescription drug coverage through Optum Rx should be directed to Optum Rx at��866.854.2945 (TTY:711).

Employees with other concerns may contact Human Resources (HR) Shared Services at 315.443.4042 or hrservice@syr.edu, or visit HR’s for the most up-to-date information about health plan coverage through the University.

Robert Wilson

is associate professor of director of undergraduate studies in the Geography and the Environment Department at ���ϲ�����’s Maxwell School.

He teaches classes on animals and society and environmental history and talks (below) about the role of animals, pathogens, and pandemics.

Wilson says:

“Covid-19 took a terrible toll on Americans, and the origins of the virus remain clouded in mystery. We are understandably weary and eager to move on with our lives.

“But as a country, we have failed to learn some fundamental lessons from the pandemic. One of the most basic is that we, too, are animals and we are radically changing the world of other species. Climate change is driving animals in search of new habitats, which increases the likelihood of viruses jumping to different species or to people. In doing so, we risk the future spillover of viruses and a new, possibly worse, pandemic.

“Avian flu is harbored by wild birds that travel along migration routes known as flyways. When waterfowl encounter domesticated birds such as chickens, they can pass the virus to them. Avian flu is not only sloshing back and forth between wild birds and poultry but has also leapt from birds to mammals such as minks, seals, and bears.

“To deal with the threat of a future pandemics, we need better surveillance of wild animals and an ability to produce vaccines for novel diseases if a new pandemic strikes. But we also must recognize that the border between cities and the wild—and between people and animals—is an illusion. The more we disrupt the habitats of wildlife, the greater the future threat of pandemics.”

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications

M��315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu |

���ϲ�����

Atanu Acharya

Coronaviruses, such as the one that causes COVID-19, have numerous protruding spikes salting their surfaces. When a coronavirus raises one of these spike proteins—like opening a finger to full length—it becomes capable of invading a human cell. The pointed spike can insert its key-like domain into a keyhole protein (ACE2) in the outer wall of a human cell, binding to it. And the spike protein becomes a gateway for infecting a cell.

In those moments, however, a coronavirus reveals its Achilles’ heel.

Coronavirus surfaces are mostly coated with sugars or glycans. In recent years, researchers have learned that glycans offer coronaviruses camouflage protection from antibodies, which are proteins that protect you when a potentially harmful substance enters your body. Antibodies need an exposed beachhead for an assault on a coronavirus, but glycans conceal landing areas (epitopes) and help thwart attacks.

A team of researchers have been searching for un-sugared locations on coronavirus spikes where antibodies have a better chance to attach and stop infections of human cells.

“We tested and compared seven known antibodies, and some of them work well in grabbing onto the exposed part of the spike protein,” says , assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and member of the . “Different antibodies target different spots on the spike protein.”

As a co-first author, Acharya recently published a study in with lead author James C. Gumbart, associate professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Acharya performed this research while a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech and is continuing his studies of coronavirus antibodies at his .

To simulate un-sugared locations exposed on opening and closing spike proteins, the team used the fastest computer available in the United States to model the corona of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2—the virus which caused COVID-19. The supercomputer, Summit, is housed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

“We used this ‘computational microscope’ to look at atomistic details of the entire route as the spike opens and how antibodies can play a role by attacking this gateway when that happens,” Acharya says. “We wanted to understand why one antibody is better than the others and why some antibodies are more successful in attacking parts of the spike protein.”

Antibodies race to stop a coronavirus infection from crossing the spike gateway and entering a cell. And the coronavirus races to complete the infection process before antibodies destroy it. Sometimes this continues even when the spike key has entered the cell’s keyhole. “There are moments when antibodies can attack the coronavirus spike even when it has already attached to the cell,” Acharya says

In his lab, Acharya hopes to find a “pan-coronavirus” antibody that could treat multiple variants of the novel coronavirus and future coronaviruses.

A big mystery in developing antibodies for treatment is the complex role of glycans. These sugars are more than just shields against invading antibodies. Glycans also have multiple roles in opening and closing spike proteins. For instance, glycans function as sticky material, helping to hold a spike in an “up” position, allowing the coronavirus a chance to bind to a cell.

“Glycans play a role in stabilizing the open state of the spike protein that is crucial for infecting the cell,” says Acharya.

Glycans can also help hold a spike in a closed position, limiting its capacity to become a gate for infection.

The infectious capability of a coronavirus might depend on how rapidly it can transition its spike protein from a closed state to an open state and continue holding there to invade a human cell despite threats from antibodies. Therefore, researchers want to identify the most potent and fast-acting antibodies for the job, ones that can immediately identify the best place on the spike protein to attack.

Story by John H. Tibbetts��

Emily Wiemers

Emily Wiemers, associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School, is the principal investigator for a COVID-19-related research project that is expected to receive up to $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over the next five years.

The project, “Tracing the Health Consequences of Family Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” examines how the economic and health effects of the pandemic rippled across generations in American families.

Marc A. Garcia, assistant professor of sociology in the Maxwell School, is a co-investigator, along with I-Fen Lin of Bowling Green State University, Judith Seltzer of the University of California, Los Angeles, and V. Joseph Hotz of Duke University.

The project began in September 2022 and runs through May 2027. The NIH has provided $445,396 in funding for the first year.

Wiemers says the project will create a database of the economic, policy and health care contexts in which individuals experienced the pandemic. It will be linked to two nationally representative surveys of extended families to describe the degree to which family members shared the same challenges during the pandemic and how this affected their ability to help each other with time, money and shared housing.

“The project focuses on the pandemic’s immediate and intermediate effects on health, whether it exacerbated health disparities, and if family support mitigated negative health effects,” says Wiemers.

Wiemers is a faculty associate in the Aging Studies Institute and a research affiliate in the Center for Policy Research and the Center for Aging and Policy Studies. Her work examines intergenerational ties and economic well-being across the life course.

Garcia is a senior research associate in the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health, a faculty associate in the Aging Studies Institute, and a research affiliate in the Center for Aging and Policy Studies. He researches physical and cognitive health disparities among older racial/ethnic and immigrant adults and longevity and mortality outcomes among older Latinx subgroups.

“Emily Wiemers, Marc Garcia and their colleagues demonstrate the relevance of evidence-based research to understanding the complex policy issues facing our communities and the nation,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “To receive funding from NIH that supports faculty research with the involvement of students to inform and shape how policy makers think about the consequences of health disparities and their impacts is a strong signal of support for the quality of Maxwell scholars and the importance of their work.”

This grant adds to the millions in funding for COVID-related research already garnered by Maxwell faculty in the past two years—much of it from the NIH.

Wiemers is leading a two-year project to investigate the challenges for adult children caring for aging parents. She’s also a co-investigator on a five-year project studying the connection between policy and psychological health, headed by Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology and Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health. The project includes Maxwell co-investigator Jennifer Karas Montez, University Professor and director of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, and Douglas Wolf, Gerald B. Cramer Professor of Aging Studies.

Garcia, meanwhile, has worked to assess how the pandemic has affected specific segments of the population. For instance, by comparing data on deaths in 2020 and 2021, he found that Blacks and Latinos died from COVID at much higher rates than whites, but some states—New York and Illinois, for instance—were much more successful at reducing that disparity than others, notably California.

���ϲ����� faculty expert , assistant teaching professor of Chinese and Chinese coordinator, reacted to the questions above. He writes:

“Both China and Japan are economic, political, and cultural powerhouses in our contemporary, hyperconnected world where commerce and capital reign – it is highly unlikely that both countries would seek a long-term “lockout” akin to what happened in the Qing-Dynasty or the Edo Period. China’s re-opening schedule highly depends on what transpires over the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on October 16th, of which the Covid-zero policy was considered a hallmark of President Xi Jinping throughout the pandemic. I would estimate a gradual reopening for tourists and foreign visitors in mid-to-late 2023. For China’s citizens abroad, the decreased quarantine periods (from the initial 14+7 days and extra to 7 days in a facility/hotel and 3 days at home) have greatly benefitted travel – you need to just talk to ���ϲ�����’s Chinese international students to observe how many were able to go home this past summer. As for Japan, recent news indicates that the government has just opened up to non-escorted travel, albeit requiring a tourist visa and keeping a daily entry cap. With the Japanese yen at a historic low, I expect tourists in Asia will be eager to take the opportunity to visit Japan, so full re-opening isn’t too far off – in fact, on October 11th.”

If you’d like to learn more or request an interview with Professor Tsen, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, Media Relations Specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu

Three of the 1,060 high school students from across the United States who participated in Summer College 2022, with a cameo by Otto

This summer, ���ϲ�����’s Summer College welcomed its largest cohort of high school students in its over 60-year history. More than 1,000 students from around the world enrolled in an on-campus or online pre-college course through the University. This was the first time in two years that pre-college students were on campus for the program.

“I am overjoyed that so many high school students chose to attend Summer College at ���ϲ�����,” says Chris Cofer, executive director of the Office of Pre-College Programs. “We made a concerted effort to maintain a robust and diversified portfolio of over 80 course offerings, and I think students responded to that.”

In the spring of 2020, Summer College had to quickly pivot in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until that point, Summer College had only been an in-person program. All high school students who attended pre-college at ���ϲ����� would spend two to six weeks experiencing college life on campus. They lived in residence halls, attended college-level classes, ate meals in a dining hall and went on field trips to regional landmarks.

As the number of COVID cases started to rise in early 2020, many institutions around the country canceled their summer pre-college programs. ���ϲ�����’s Office of Pre-College Programs decided to take a risk and move all of its courses to an online format. “My team was prepared to take on the challenge of creating a program that met students where they were—at home,” Cofer says. “We viewed it as an opportunity to provide a robust, online pre-college program that high school students could attend virtually in the comfort and safety of their homes.”

Students responded, and the program exceeded enrollment expectations. Summer College had 837 high school students enroll in their online summer program, an 18% increase from the prior year.

In 2021, Summer College decided to only offer online courses again due to the high level of COVID cases. While students couldn’t have the experience of living on campus for yet another summer, the program tried to emulate a campus experience. Students had ‘community connectors’ in place and they could take part in virtual events and activities to unwind and meet students in other online courses. Professors had virtual office hours for extra help and students could take advantage of other ���ϲ����� resources offered online like the writing center.

Although case numbers were down significantly in 2022, the decision to offer an in-person option wasn’t easy. “We had to make the decision in the fall of 2021,” says Cofer. “I chose to stay true to our general operating philosophy to meet students where they are. We anticipated that cases would be lower and that students would want to be in person again.”

They were right, and a record was broken. 1,060 high school students from 40 U.S. states and 18 countries attended Summer College this year.

By offering more than 80 courses both in-person and online, a greater population of students could attend pre-college. While most students attended the in-person program, more than 150 took their classes online. For some, it was because of the ongoing risk of COVID. For others, an online program fits better into their lives because of jobs or other responsibilities.

Historically, high school students attend Summer College for many reasons. They can test out a college major to find out if it’s something they want to pursue. It’s also a valuable differentiator on a college application. Many students are interested in attending ���ϲ�����, but they want to see what it’s like before applying. This year, those reasons were all still true—but living through a pandemic has caused students to have different perspectives, challenges and needs. Two weeks of living on a college campus was transformational for these students.

“A quote from a 2022 Summer College parent sums it up better than I can,” Cofer says. “They said, ‘I have noticed that my son holds himself differently now. He moves through the world with a bit more confidence. A bit more assured of himself. He’s comfortable going off and figuring something out more than he was before.’”

Applications for Summer College 2023 will open in December. Applications for Accelerated Semester Online courses, which are offered during the school year, are open now. .

Story by Amy Kruse

I am writing this afternoon to call your attention to the message you recently received from Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, and to provide a few additional thoughts on our ongoing efforts to manage COVID-19.

First, I want to highlight a few key points:

1. Active cases: The University is tracking 15 active cases among our faculty and staff, and 34 among our students as of today. These are students who have tested positive and submitted their test result to the Barnes Center at The Arch. If one of your students reports a positive test result, you will receive notification from the Office of Student Outreach and Retention (SOaR). Students who report positive results are eligible to receive an excused absence. I understand from many of you that you are receiving emails from students, some with photos of a positive test result. If this happens, I encourage you to remind your students that they are required to contact the Barnes Center. Notifying the Barnes Center of a positive test result is the only pathway for our students to receive an excused absence from class.
2. Boosters: The Bivalent booster is available. Some of you have shared with me that other universities are making the booster available. Please note, all states have been tasked with implementing their own booster distribution plans. While some states have included universities in their respective plans, New York State’s distribution efforts do not yet include universities. Instead, the state is prioritizing distributing the Bivalent booster to pharmacy networks. We encourage everyone who is eligible to sign up for a booster. Visit the or your preferred pharmacy to make an appointment. As a reminder, you are eligible to receive the booster if it has been at least two months since your previous booster dose, or two months since you completed your initial primary vaccine series.
3. Public Health Guidance: Our public health guidance continues to follow recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the New York State Department of Health and the Onondaga County Health Department. As the University has since COVID-19 was first detected in the United States, we will continue to adhere to all guidance as directed by public health authorities. This includes as it relates to testing, masking and isolation protocols.

Now, I’d like to provide reminders on a few important topics in the context of COVID-19.

Excused Absence Policy

As in past semesters, students who test positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate. You will receive an absence notification from the staff in SOaR for students who have to miss class for more than 48 hours. For privacy reasons, those notifications will not include a medical diagnosis. Your student may communicate with you directly before you receive the absence notification.

Faculty are required to provide students who are in isolation with the means to keep up with the rest of the class so that they can successfully resume their participation when their isolation period is over. You are free to decide how you do this in the manner most fitting for your classes. Many faculty choose to livestream or record their classes for students in isolation—though this is not required. Our students have indicated clearly that this is their preferred option and I encourage you to give it serious consideration. Nearly all of our teaching spaces are equipped for both streaming and recording classes. Please don’t hesitate to contact your school or college’s IT team if you need help setting this up.

Our immunocompromised students may have sought and secured accommodations through the (CDR). All faculty are obliged to follow the University’s policies and federal law related to serving students with disabilities. The Disability Faculty Portal, located in the Faculty Services field in MySlice, can be used to view accommodation letters for your students, upload exams and assignments, and provide feedback to CDR.

Testing Positive for COVID

As a reminder, if you test positive for COVID, you should notify your department chair and HR Shared Services by phone at 315.443.4042. If your school does not have departments, please notify your dean. If you are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and you want to continue teaching your classes online, you may do so. Otherwise, you should work with your department chair or dean to arrange for alternate instruction.

Close Contact Exposure

Finally, the CDC continues to recommend that anyone in close contact to a COVID positive individual should wear a mask while in public for a period of five days following exposure. As our campus policy is aligned with CDC guidance, we ask that all members of our campus community adhere to this guidance. Faculty members should feel free to remind students of this policy in their classroom.

Let me close by extending my deep gratitude to our faculty and staff for their continued support of our students and our community. Because of you, we continue to provide the Orange experience our students expect and enjoy. At the same time, please know that I recognize that for many in our community, COVID remains a significant concern. We will continue to follow the guidance and directive of public health authorities, and provide updates to our community as there are changes to guidance or new developments. Let us continue to support each other as part of a caring community.

Many thanks to you all for your hard work, tenacity and commitment to ���ϲ�����. I hope your semester is successful and productive.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Ritter
Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Today marks the fourth week of the Fall 2022 semester. It has been an exciting few weeks on campus with a palpable sense of energy from everyone in our community. While this semester feels like a more “typical” semester, it is critically important that our community continue to adhere to public health guidance and take the personal and collective steps necessary to keep our students, faculty and staff healthy and safe.

As I shared in , the University remains in close contact with New York State’s Department of Health, Onondaga County Health Department and the City of ���ϲ�����. This includes coordinating our joint efforts to mitigate the prevalence of COVID-19. That is why I am writing today, to remind you and reinforce our public health guidance, to share where things stand on our campus and to inform you about steps you can take to maintain your health and well-being. Today, I will address:

• Active Cases and Isolation Housing
• Testing Availability
• Positive Test Result Reporting/Excused Absences
• Vaccine/Booster Availability
• Proactive Steps and Masking
• Resources and Services

Please continue to visit for the latest updates, and to review important public health guidance and to access resources and services.

Active Cases and Isolation Housing

As of today (Monday, Sept. 19), we are tracking a total of 34 active cases among our student population. Of those 34 cases, nine students are isolating in on-campus isolation space, while the remaining 25 are isolating in their off-campus residences. Isolation housing is available to students who live in on-campus housing in Sky Hall 1 and South Campus apartments.

Additionally, there are currently 15 active cases among faculty and staff that have been reported to Human Resources Shared Services. Faculty and staff are educated on isolation protocols when they report their positive test result to HR Shared Services.

Testing Availability

As a reminder, ���ϲ����� has expanded access to self-administered COVID test kits. Every ; and all faculty and staff have access to through their division, unit or department. Additionally, test kits are available for purchase ($1) in vending machines at the Schine Student Center, Goldstein Student Center, Barnes Center at The Arch, Dineen Hall, Life Sciences Complex and the Mount. Please continue to take advantage of this resource as needed.

Positive Test Result Reporting

We continue to ask our campus community to self-report a positive test. Here’s how you can report a positive test:

• Students: To report a positive test, please complete and submit the . The submission form should take no more than a couple minutes to complete. Once you submit your form, the Barnes Center at The Arch will contact the Office of Student Outreach and Retention (SOaR), which in turn will notify your faculty of an excused absence. Please note, the ONLY way to receive an excused absence is to notify the Barnes Center of your positive result. Any communication directly with one of your professors may result in an unexcused absence.
• Faculty and Staff: If you receive a positive test result, please notify your supervisor and HR Shared Services by phone at 315.443.4042.

For all community members, if you test positive, we ask that you please take the following steps, as informed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• ��Isolate for five days following a positive test or the onset of symptoms.
• On day six, if symptoms are resolved, you may leave isolation, but must wear a well-fitting mask while in public or around others for days 6-10.
• If you continue to experience symptoms, you are encouraged to continue isolating until the symptoms are resolved or until you test negative.
• During days 6-10, we encourage our community members to avoid large public gatherings, including eating around people at dining halls.

For more information on how to respond, and what actions to take in the event you test positive for COVID-19, please visit the .

Vaccine/Booster Availability

As you are likely aware, a Bivalent COVID vaccine (new booster) is being distributed nationwide. Each state is handling distribution differently. In New York state, the Bivalent booster is being distributed to pharmacy networks first, including Walgreens, Wegmans, Rite Aid, Kinney, CVS, etc. Large-scale access to the booster has not yet been made available to universities and colleges. We plan to order a large supply of the booster, once the state makes it available to us. You may have read media coverage where universities, not located in New York state, are already offering the booster. Please note, that when we are able to do so, we will begin offering the booster.

Until then, I strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment at your preferred area pharmacy. To locate and schedule an appointment, please visit the .

You are eligible to receive the booster if it has been at least two months since your previous booster dose, or two months since you completed your initial primary vaccine series.

Proactive Steps and Masking

���ϲ����� continues to urge our community members to take proactive steps to keep themselves and those around them safe and healthy, particularly as cold and flu season creeps closer. Some simple steps you can take include:

• Make sure you’re up to date on your vaccinations and boosters.
• Monitor for COVID-like symptoms. If you’re a student, contact the Barnes Center if you’re exhibiting symptoms. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.
• Take a COVID test if you’re experiencing symptoms, and if you test positive, notify the Barnes Center (students) or your supervisor/HR Shared Services (faculty/staff), and follow the CDC’s isolation protocol as defined above.
• Do not attend in-person activities if you’re exhibiting symptoms.
• Wash your hands regularly.
• Continue to wear a mask in all health care spaces, including at the Barnes Center at The Arch.
• Finally, the CDC continues to recommend that anyone in close contact to a COVID positive individual should wear a mask while in public for a period of five days following exposure. As our campus policy is aligned with CDC guidance, all members of our campus community should adhere to this guidance.

Resources and Services

���ϲ����� continues to offer a number of resources and services to assist our community in managing COVID. The :

• Support Resources for Students in Isolation
• Disability Access and Inclusion Resources
• COVID Response Checklists
• And much more!

The University appreciates your continued attention to and support of our public health guidance and urges you to continue to take the proactive steps necessary to ensure your personal and our collective health and well-being. We will continue to provide occasional updates when new information becomes available or if we sense reminders would be helpful to our community.

Sincerely,
J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

The study, “COVID-19 Mortality Burden and Comorbidity Patterns Among Decedents with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the US”, looked at 2020 death certificate data to examine death patterns for people with or without IDD. They found that those without an IDD, COVID was the third leading cause of death, following heart disease and cancer. But for those with IDD, COVID was the number one cause of death.

IDD are conditions characterized by life-long impairments in mobility, language, learning, self-care, and independent living. Examples include Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities.

���ϲ����� Associate Professor and lead author of the paper, published by the , said that this study had confirmed earlier predictions that COVID-19 would be deadlier among people with IDD.

“Even when we adjusted for age, sex, and racial-ethnic minority status, we found that COVID-19 was far deadlier for those with IDD than those without,” said Landes. “Furthermore, people with IDD were dying at much younger ages.”

The research team for the study includes Landes, a faculty associate for the����at ���ϲ�����’s��;��, a graduate student in the sociology department at the Maxwell School at ���ϲ�����; and , Distinguished Service Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at SUNY����in ���ϲ�����, N.Y.

In understanding why the COVID-19 burden is greater for people with IDD, the researchers feel that more attention needs to be given to comorbidities as well as living arrangements.

“People with IDD are living in congregate settings at a higher percentage than those without an IDD,” said Landes. “Group living situations, especially with close-contact personal care support, is associated with the spread of COVID-19. For the estimated 13 to 20 percent of adults with IDD living in these settings, the risk cannot be overstated.”

“While it is important to attend to differences in comorbidity patterns, it is also necessary to realize that the increased COVID-19 burden among people with IDD may at least partly be due to social factors such as a higher proportion of this population living in group care settings, insufficient attention to care needs on a public and private level, and inequities in access to quality healthcare,” said Landes.

Additionally, the researchers noted the higher occurrences of hypothyroidism and seizures among all IDD statuses, and obesity among decedents with intellectual disability and Down syndrome. “Out of an abundance of caution, medical providers should carefully monitor symptoms among COVID-19 patients with IDD diagnosed with hypothyroidism and/or seizures.”

But the researchers say that more research is needed to explore these social factors in better understanding the COVID-19 death rates for people with IDD.

Furthermore, the authors note that the study is focused on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A current data inequity that permits IDD to be reported as the cause of death prevents understanding whether people with IDD continue to experience a disproportionate COVID-19 burden.

“This is preventing adequate surveillance of the health of this marginalized population during the ongoing pandemic. While changes are needed to the death certificate coding and revision process to address this data inequity in the long-term, in the immediate, the CDC will need to recognize this inequity and take necessary action to allow for analysis of current death certificate data at the decedent level for this population,” said Landes.

Reporters looking to connect with the authors of the report, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations at ���ϲ�����, at 412-496-0551 or ejmbuqe@syr.edu

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Here are a few ways to obtain an at-home test kit.

1. A supply of at-home tests were distributed to schools, colleges and administrative units at the beginning of the fall semester. Four at-home tests were allocated for each member of the faculty and staff working in-person on campus, including those in our New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles locations. If you have not received your tests yet, contact your dean, unit leader or supervisor.
2. At-home tests are available at a highly subsidized cost of $1/test kit in dedicated vending machines located across campus. Visit the for locations.
3. Employees and dependents who are can access FDA-approved COVID-19 testing related services at no cost through Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) and Optum Rx.
   

   Coverage Through Excellus BCBS

   Your cost for FDA-approved COVID-19 testing related services will be waived when you use your Excellus BCBS insurance card. This generally includes diagnostic tests, as well as in-network provider office visits, in-network urgent care visits and emergency room visits necessary to obtain a COVID-19 diagnosis. If an in-network provider is not available, the health plan will cover testing through an out-of-network provider at no cost to the member. Any questions can be directed to the University’s dedicated customer care team at Excellus BCBS at 800.493.0318 (TTY: 800.662.1220).

   Coverage Through Optum Rx

   When using your Optum Rx insurance card, qualifying COVID-19 at-home tests can be acquired for free from Optum Rx’s preferred retail partners: Kinney Drugs, Rite Aid, Sam’s Club, Walgreens and Walmart. Additionally, members of the health plan are eligible to be reimbursed for up to $12 toward the cost of a qualifying test purchased by submitting a manual claim request. Each covered member can be reimbursed for up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month (without a prescription). For more information and to request a claim reimbursement visit or contact Optum Rx at 866.854.2945 (TTY:711).

General questions about COVID-19 testing? Please contact Human Resources Shared Services at 315.443.4042 or hrservice@syr.edu.

Earlier this week, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that effective immediately, masks are no longer required on public transportation in the state of New York. As such, effective today ���ϲ����� will transition to a masking optional policy for passengers traveling on campus buses, trolleys and other forms of University-provided shared transportation. As always, we continue to support members of our campus community who make a personal choice to wear a mask in any setting or situation while on campus.

Please note, New York State policy has not changed related to masking in health care settings. This means that masks continue to be required in all health care facilities at the Barnes Center at The Arch.

As always, we will continue to keep the campus community informed of any additional changes or updates to New York State, Onondaga County and/or ���ϲ�����’s public health guidance. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of our campus community and our neighbors.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

As shared in the , the University has expanded the availability of self-administered COVID test kits for campus community members. I am writing with follow up information to access self-administered COVID test kits when you arrive to campus.

The University will be providing every student with access to four free self-administered COVID tests. To access your free COVID test kits:

• On-Campus Students: Tests will be distributed at check-in desks during residential move-in. For new incoming students, tests will be available during move-in from Aug. 23-25. For returning students, tests will be available from Aug. 26-28. Visit the check-in desk at your designated residence hall or South Campus apartment. The check-in locations are as follows:
  • On-Campus Residence: Brewster, Boland, Brockway (BBB)—Check-In Location: BBB
  • On-Campus Residence: Marley Center—Check-In Location: BBB
  • On-Campus Residence: Booth Hall—Check-In Location: Booth Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Day Hall—Check-In Location: Day Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: DellPlain Hall—Check-In Location: DellPlain Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Ernie Davis Hall—Check-In Location: Ernie Davis Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Flint Hall—Check-In Location: Flint Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Haven Hall—Check-In Location: Haven Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Walnut Hall—Check-In Location: Haven Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Washington Arms—Check-In Location: Haven Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: 206 Walnut Place—Check-In Location: Haven Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Kimmel Hall—Check-In Location: Kimmel Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Marion Hall—Check-In Location: Kimmel Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Lawrinson Hall—Check-In Location: Lawrinson Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Sadler Hall—Check-In Location: Sadler Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Shaw Hall—Check-In Location: Shaw Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Lyons Hall—Check-In Location: Shaw Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Watson Hall—Check-In Location: Watson Hall
  • On-Campus Residence: Sheraton—Check-In Location: Sheraton Lobby
  • On-Campus Residence: Skyhalls—Check-In Location: Skyhall II
  • On-Campus Residence: South Campus Apartments—Check-In Location: Goldstein Student Center
  • Following Aug. 25, any on-campus student may visit the main desk in Day, DellPlain, Shaw or BBB halls to pick up four free COVID tests.

• Off-Campus Students: Beginning Friday, Aug. 26, off-campus students may visit the information desk at the Schine Student Center or Goldstein Student Center to pick up four free COVID tests.

As a reminder, additional tests beyond the four free tests will be available at a highly subsidized cost of $1 per test in vending machines across campus. Vending machines will be located in the following buildings:

• Schine Student Center
• Goldstein Student Center (South Campus)
• Barnes Center at The Arch
• Dineen Hall
• Life Sciences Complex
• The Mount (Day and Flint halls)

In addition, the Barnes Center pharmacy has test kits available for purchase that may be free of charge based on students’ health insurance or pharmacy benefit plan. Please consult your insurance provider to see if you are eligible.

We look forward to another exciting, safe and productive year ahead!

Sincerely,

Robert D. Hradsky, Ed.D.
Vice President and Dean of Students

Ahead of the start of the fall semester, the University procured more than 80,000 COVID tests to ensure reliable access to self-testing resources for students, faculty and staff. Unfortunately, late yesterday we learned that a small number of the roughly 300 FlowFlex test kits sold to the University and distributed to date via campus vending machines may be counterfeit.

Upon learning of the potential of fraudulent tests in our supply, the University immediately took the following actions:

1. Completed an inspection of the test kit inventory in all campus vending machines, to ensure those machines were stocked with authentic FlowFlex test kits.
2. Inspected our current reserve supply of FlowFlex test kits (meaning the kits that have not yet been placed in a vending machine) to identify and remove any potentially counterfeit tests.

It appears that only a small subset of the FlowFlex test kits distributed through campus vending machines, prior to Aug. 31, 2022, were potentially counterfeit. However, the University will provide a free replacement to anyone who purchased a test kit at a vending machine prior to Sept. 1, 2022. Anyone seeking a replacement test kit should contact sucovidtesting@syr.edu.

It is important to note that the iHealth brand test kits distributed to students, faculty and staff free of charge as part of our return-to-campus efforts are NOT impacted. The iHealth test kits are authentic, accurate and can continue to be used. You can learn more about these tests and check the most current use-by date on the iHealth tests by visiting and entering the lot number found on the packaging.

I want to extend my deep appreciation to the faculty member who identified the potentially fraudulent test kit, and who took action to alert me immediately. Thanks to their quick action, our team was able to move with urgency to identify and dispose of any potentially fraudulent test kits in our campus supply. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

As a follow up to the July 28 message regarding fall 2022 public health guidelines, we are writing today to share additional information associated with COVID testing resources accessible to faculty and staff throughout the fall semester.

Accessing At-Home COVID Test Kits

The University has a large supply of at-home COVID test kits, which will be accessible to faculty and staff ahead of the start of the fall semester. The specific details are as follows:

• All faculty and staff working in-person on our main campus, as well as those working in-person from our New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles campuses, will have access to four free test kits at the start of the semester.
• Test kits will be available for pickup at various locations across our main campus and will be distributed centrally to faculty and staff working from our New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles facilities.
• Beyond the four free test kits available to faculty and staff working in-person on campus, the University will make additional test kits available at a highly subsidized cost of $1/per test kit.
• These additional test kits will be accessible via vending machines that are currently being installed at the following locations across campus:
  • Schine Student Center
  • Goldstein Student Center
  • Barnes Center at The Arch
  • Dineen Hall
  • Life Sciences Complex
  • The Mount
• These vending machines will accept a variety of payment options, including cash and credit/debit cards.
• Faculty and staff are also reminded that are currently available from the federal government.
• Finally, in addition to making at-home test kits readily available to faculty and staff, the University will also continue the past practice of providing access to COVID-19 testing at no cost through our health-related plans. Information regarding University coverage for testing can be located on the University’s .

Next week you will receive additional information directly from your dean, unit leader or supervisor that describes when, where and how you can access the four free test kits available to those working in-person on campus.

As always, we will continue to monitor COVID-related conditions on our campus and in our community and communicate any changes to our public health guidelines as necessary. We appreciate your continued commitment to the well-being of our campus community and neighbors.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Andrew R. Gordon
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer

Brittany Kmush

For your continuing coverage related to the monkeypox virus, ���ϲ����� public health expert is available for interviews.

Kmush is an assistant professor in the at ���ϲ�����’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. Her areas of specialization include vaccines, infectious diseases, epidemiology, global health, and immunology and environmental exposures, particularly within the context of risks for infectious diseases.

Kmush has been interviewed by the media multiple times for stories about monkeypox. Her comments have recently appeared in . She also can speak about COVID-19, anti-vaccination trends, and measles outbreaks. Her comments have been featured in outlets that include , , , and many others.

For more information or to request an interview:

Daryl Lovell
Associate Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications
M��315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu |

I hope you are having a great summer and enjoying time with friends and family. On campus, we are working hard to prepare for an exciting fall semester, and to welcome new and returning members of the ���ϲ����� community to campus next month!

Like many of our peers, the University’s approach to public health planning for the fall semester is grounded in the premise that—for the foreseeable future—COVID-19 will represent a concern that is endemic to life on a college campus. For that reason, it is important that our management of COVID-19 on campus and within our community reflect that practical reality. With that in mind, I’m writing today to share an overview of the public health guidelines and protocols planned for the fall semester. Please review this message carefully.

Vaccination

• The University’s vaccination requirement will remain unchanged from the 2021-22 academic year. That is, full immunization against COVID-19 (initial course of vaccine, plus one booster dose upon eligibility) will continue to be required of all students, faculty and staff accessing campus, except for those with approved medical or religious exemptions.
• For incoming students, vaccination records were due to the Barnes Center on July 1. If you have not submitted these records, please do so immediately.

Masking

• The University will discontinue its current color-coded COVID Masking Framework, effective Aug. 15.
• As of that date, masking will be optional in all settings on campus for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, except where masking remains required by the New York State Department of Health (i.e., health care facilities and while on public transportation).
• We strongly encourage all members of the campus community to consider masking based on an assessment of personal risk, especially when in large groups, high-density areas of campus, or in response to an exposure to a known COVID-positive individual.
• The University’s masking policy remains subject to public health orders issued by the Onondaga County Health Department and New York State Department of Health, and will be adjusted if directed by public health authorities.

Testing

• The University’s Testing Center will not reopen in the fall, and we will discontinue mandatory COVID surveillance testing on campus.
• Testing for symptomatic students will be available at the Barnes Center at The Arch.
• Symptomatic faculty and staff should access testing via community providers or utilize self-administered, at-home test kits.
• The University has acted to significantly expand the availability of self-administered COVID test kits for all students, faculty and staff. Specifically:
  • The University will make an initial allotment of free, self-administered COVID test kits available to all members of the campus community at the beginning of the semester.
  • We will also be installing a network of vending stations at locations across campus that will dispense—at a highly subsidized cost­—self-administered COVID test kits to members of the campus community.
  • In addition, are currently available from the federal government.
• Wastewater surveillance testing will continue on campus, as a tool to provide the Public Health Team early data on campus transmission and prevalence trends.

Additional Considerations

• The University will continue to provide isolation housing to students who test positive for COVID-19 and who reside in ���ϲ�����-owned and operated housing, including residence halls and apartments.
• Students who live off campus and test positive for COVID-19 will be responsible for securing their own isolation housing, if required, at their own expense.
• The University will continue to make cost-free personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and other supplies readily available to the campus community, to include in classrooms, residence halls and other public spaces.
• Given the discontinuation of mandatory surveillance testing and the widespread use of at-home and community-based COVID testing resources, the COVID-19 Dashboard will be retired. However, we will continue to provide public health updates on and by email with the campus community as needed.

Like other communicable illnesses, such as the flu, our campus community will continue to face challenges stemming from COVID infections and illness. However, together we have successfully navigated those challenges in the past, and I’m confident we can do the same in the fall and beyond. University leadership and the Public Health Team will remain focused and diligent with regard to monitoring the public health situation on campus and in our community, to include closely following developments related to the increasing prevalence of the monkeypox virus. If necessary, we will take action to adjust the procedures and protocols detailed above in response to changing public health conditions.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to welcoming you to campus this fall!

Sincerely,
J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Recently the Onondaga County Health Department has reported a notable decline in new COVID infections and hospitalizations across the Central New York region. This positive trend, combined with significantly reduced population density on our campus given summer break, supports an adjustment to our campus and associated masking guidance.

Specifically, effective Wednesday, June 1, ���ϲ����� will return to COVID Level Yellow. As a reminder, under the Yellow Level, the following on-campus masking guidelines apply:

• For Unvaccinated Community Members: Masks are REQUIRED for all unvaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus indoors at all times, and outdoors when in the presence of others.
• For Vaccinated Community Members: Masks are RECOMMENDED for vaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors in the presence of others, and outdoors in large group settings.
• For ALL Community Members: Currently, per the New York State Department of Health, all individuals are REQUIRED to wear masks on public transit (including ���ϲ����� shuttles) and when visiting any health care facility (including Barnes Center Health Care).

The University continues to closely monitor and assess public health conditions and all public health actions will be contingent on the most up-to-date data, science and public health guidance.

Thank you for your continued attention to the University’s public health protocols.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

With the 2021-22 academic year officially behind us, I want to again express my gratitude for the cooperation and flexibility of our students, faculty and staff, who committed to the public health safeguards necessary to maintain a robust residential academic experience over the past year. It has taken a dedicated community effort to get us to this point, and I’m extremely proud of all we’ve accomplished together.

Looking ahead, I write to share updates to public health protocols for summer 2022, as the University continues to align its policies and recommendations with best practices for endemic management. Importantly, these updates pertain specifically to summer operations and do not necessarily reflect policies or procedures in place for the Fall 2022 semester. We will share additional public health updates as we head toward the next academic year, applicable to the fall semester and beyond.

Today’s update includes information on the following topics:

• Testing Services and Requirements
• COVID Level Masking Framework
• Isolation/Quarantine Housing on Campus
• Vaccine Requirements
• Updated Travel Policy
• Staffing Changes for COVID Support Functions
• COVID-19 Dashboard Updates

Testing Services and Requirements

Effective Monday, May 23, the University will suspend on-campus testing operations. Testing services will not be available at the stadium or Kimmel during the summer months. Symptomatic students in need of COVID testing services can make an appointment at the Barnes Center by calling 315.443.8000. Faculty and staff requiring a COVID test are encouraged to utilize a community provider, your primary care physician or an at-home COVID test. At-home tests are currently free of charge from the federal government.

Given the above, it follows that effective May 23 the University will also suspend the random surveillance testing program for vaccinated students, faculty and staff, and the weekly testing requirement for vaccine-exempt community members. The University’s COVID-19 wastewater surveillance testing program will continue throughout the summer, specifically tailored to monitor campus facilities in use during summer programs.

COVID Level Masking Framework

The that currently outlines masking requirements on campus will remain in place throughout the summer. As is current practice, the ���ϲ����� Public Health Team will continually evaluate and recommend any changes to the COVID Level and associated masking guidance as needed based on conditions on campus and in the surrounding community. Any changes to the COVID Level will be communicated campuswide via email, text message, social media and the and news.syr.edu websites.

Isolation/Quarantine Housing on Campus

Effective Monday, May 23, on-campus isolation and quarantine housing will be provided only to students living in ���ϲ����� housing, including residence halls and apartments. The University will continue to reserve a number of South Campus apartments for this purpose over the summer. Students who live off campus will be responsible for securing their own isolation and quarantine housing, if required, at their own expense.

Vaccine Requirements

Incoming residential ���ϲ����� students will be subject to the same COVID-19 and flu vaccine requirements that were in place for the 2021-22 academic year. For COVID, full immunization is defined as a full course of the initial COVID vaccine plus a booster dose, although this definition is subject to change based on evolving vaccination guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Student and Family Programs will communicate directly with incoming students about the requirements.

Updated Travel Policy

Effective Monday, May 23, travel for University purposes may freely resume, subject to usual approval processes. All travelers must continue to register their travel at travelregistry.syr.edu. Faculty and staff travelers are strongly encouraged to plan for the possibility of contracting COVID-19 and the need to isolate with consequent travel disruption. Departments or units sponsoring student travel must have a plan to accommodate any student required to isolate or quarantine during travel and be prepared to support the traveler during any confinement. All costs associated with COVID-19 isolation while traveling are the responsibility of the sponsoring department. International travel that includes students is subject to the University’s . As a reminder, student travel to destinations rated as a Level 3 or 4 by the U.S. Department of State is considered high risk and is subject to review by the University. Those with questions about travel safety issues may contact Seth Tucker, director of global safety and support, at satucker@syr.edu or 315.443.1968.

Staffing Updates for COVID Support Functions

Effective Monday, May 23, the University’s COVID Project Management Office (PMO), which has been operational for more than two years during the pandemic, will stand down. COVID-related questions and concerns moving forward should be directed to the (students) or (faculty/staff). Contact tracing will transition to the self-disclosure method currently in place throughout New York state. The ���ϲ����� Public Health Team will continue to meet and advise leadership on COVID-related matters.

COVID-19 Dashboard Updates

Friday, May 20, will be the last update to the �� for the summer months. Public health information will continue to be shared as appropriate, and community members are encouraged to continue visiting as the primary source of information and the latest updates about the University’s COVID-19 response.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important message and for your continued commitment to each other and to the larger ���ϲ����� community. Best of luck to all our graduates and wishing you all a safe, healthy, restful and productive summer.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Gump added that it is crucial that the U.S. still works to actively combat the virus. “The idea that we can just set a policy and walk away is a pipe dream. If we want to keep some control of these rates, we need to modify our approach each time the situation on the ground shifts,” he said.

With less than four weeks to go in the spring semester, our campus is beginning to experience an uptick in COVID cases, a trend that is consistent with what is occurring across the country and here in Onondaga County. As we approach the end of year activities, including final projects and exams, and Commencement exercises, it is important that we take reasonable action to minimize the impact of COVID infections on academic outcomes and experiences. That’s why, effective Tuesday, April 19, our campus will transition to COVID level “Blue.”

What does this action mean for you?

Masking level Blue indicates an elevated level of transmission risk on campus and stipulates the following guidelines on campus:

• For all students, faculty and staff who are vaccinated and boosted:
  • Masks Required at all times:
    • During academic instruction (inclusive of classrooms, laboratories, libraries and lecture venues); and
    • During non-academic events and in certain facilities, as determined by a public health risk assessment. These exceptions will be communicated directly as appropriate, to include the installation of signage as required.
  • Masks Strongly Recommended:
    • When indoors on campus, and outdoors in the presence of others.
  • For vaccine-exempt individuals (approved religious or medical exemption), or if you have not yet received a booster dose of the COVID vaccine:
    • Masks are required at all times and in all facilities while on campus, and while outdoors when in the presence of others.

Why was this decision made?

Late last week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded its recommendation for indoor masking from Onondaga and Oswego counties, to include an additional eight counties across Central New York. This elevated masking recommendation stems from an increasing number of new COVID cases across the region, likely resulting from subvariants of the omicron strain of the COVID virus. These subvariants were first identified in Onondaga County several weeks ago. There is no current evidence that these subvariants cause heightened levels of illness among vaccinated individuals. However, these subvariants do appear to be more contagious. This is likely why we have experienced an increase in new cases and test positivity on campus over the past 10 days. Given the high vaccination rate among our campus community, the most recent uptick of new cases on campus has not resulted in heightened levels of symptomatic illness among students, staff and faculty. That said, given that New York State public health law mandates a five-day isolation period for those who test positive, the surge in new cases and associated class absences has increasingly disrupted the academic experience.

Public Health Reminders

The best way to protect yourself and those around you is to continue following good public health practices, including:

• Get tested! Free, on-demand testing continues to be available to all asymptomatic students, faculty, staff and families at Kimmel Dining Hall. To review hours of operation, please visit the .
• Monitor for symptoms: If you are experiencing any COVID-like symptoms, stay home. Do not report to work or attend class. For students feeling ill, call (do not physically visit) Barnes Center Health Care at 315.443.8000. Please do not visit the Barnes Center until you’ve spoken with a team member there by phone. Faculty and staff experiencing COVID-like symptoms should stay home and contact their primary care physician.
• Know what to do if you test positive: If you are uncertain about what steps you should take if you come down with COVID, please visit the .

As we have said from the beginning, navigating COVID health and policy concerns—on behalf of all members of our community—requires patience and flexibility of everyone in our community. We will continue to monitor current conditions and refine our guidelines based on the most up-to-date data, science and public health guidance. We appreciate your continued cooperation and ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy campus community.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Effective Sunday, April 10, the on-campus COVID Testing Center for asymptomatic members of the campus community will fully transition to Kimmel Dining Hall. Due to several large-scale events planned for the remainder of the semester, COVID-19 testing will no longer be available at the stadium.

The hours of operation remain unchanged. Testing is available:

• Sunday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Monday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Tuesday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-7 p.m.
• Thursday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Friday: 8:30-10:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Closed

15-minute parking is available in the Comstock Avenue Garage for those visiting the Testing Center; simply tell the parking attendant you are there for a COVID test.

As a reminder, masks are required at the Testing Center. Thank you for your continued commitment to the safety and well-being of our community.

Sincerely,

���ϲ����� Public Health Team

As you may be aware, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending indoor masking in Onondaga County. This recommendation is based on three data points, including active COVID cases, hospitalizations and hospital capacity. The CDC’s action does not represent a federal masking order but is instead a recommendation to our community. The University has no new information to indicate that the Onondaga County Health Department or the New York State Department of Health intend to issue a local masking order in response to the CDC’s most recent guidance.

As a reminder, the University’s current COVID level of “Yellow” recommends indoor masking when in the presence of others, which is consistent with the most recent CDC guidance. At this time, the University will not make any immediate changes to its campus masking policy. We continue to urge our students, faculty and staff to take appropriate steps to safeguard your health, especially when visiting public spaces and places across our region.

Based on our most recent testing and case data, our campus community is not experiencing the same surge in transmission and new cases that are being reported elsewhere in the county. The University’s random surveillance test positivity rate for the most recent seven-day period was 1.2%, as compared to 9% in Onondaga County over the same period. As always, we will continue to monitor public health conditions.

The University is in close contact with our partners at the New York State Department of Health and Onondaga County Health Department. Should they recommend or require changes to our masking guidance in the days to come, we will communicate with our community promptly.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

���ϲ����� will be hosting a number of external events in the coming months, including Monster Jam and the Paul McCartney concert, just to name a couple. Public health protocols for these events will be determined and communicated by the event promoter. Please be sure to visit ahead of the event to ensure compliance with public health protocols.

The University continues to assess public health conditions and will issue revised guidance should that become necessary. Please continue to visit the for the most up-to-date public health information.

As spring break comes to an end, I hope you are feeling recharged and ready to tackle the final weeks of the Spring 2022 semester. Whether you traveled away from campus or spent your time in ���ϲ����� catching up on rest and other activities, in preparation for the return to campus life, I want to share some important public health reminders. Specifically, please carefully review the updates below regarding:

• Current Masking Level
• Testing Resources
• Testing Hours and Locations

Current Masking Level

As previously announced, on Monday, March 14, the University transitioned to COVID level “Yellow,” which indicates a moderate level of transmission risk within our campus community. Further, level Yellow corresponds with the following masking policy while on campus:

• For Unvaccinated Community Members: Masks are REQUIRED for all unvaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus indoors at all times, and outdoors when in the presence of others.
• For Vaccinated Community Members: Masks are RECOMMENDED for vaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors in the presence of others, and outdoors in large group settings.
• For ALL Community Members: Masks continue to be REQUIRED on all public transit (including the ���ϲ����� Shuttle) and when visiting any health care facility (including the Barnes Health Center and the Kimmel and Stadium testing centers).

Please Take Note: This change to our masking framework eliminates the mandate that vaccinated individuals wear a mask while indoors on campus and is aligned with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Department of Health guidance applicable to all indoor spaces across New York state. However, it is important to acknowledge that level Yellow of the University’s masking framework also includes a public health RECOMMENDATION that vaccinated individuals consider voluntary masking while indoors and in the presence of others. Masking remains the best strategy to mitigate transmission and infection among the vaccinated population, and therefore the individual choice to mask while in crowded indoor spaces and venues should be supported. Acknowledging and acting on this recommendation is also the best way to ensure that we don’t experience a resurgence of COVID cases on campus at a level that would warrant reintroducing a mandatory masking requirement applicable to some or all indoor spaces on campus. As always, the ���ϲ����� Public Health Team will continue to monitor conditions and, if necessary, recommend the appropriate change to the masking level.

Testing Resources

���ϲ����� continues to offer COVID testing to asymptomatic students, faculty, staff and families. Further, for the time being—and with a particular emphasis on the period immediately following spring break—the University will continue our random surveillance testing program and wastewater testing of our residence halls. As a reminder, symptomatic individuals should not seek testing at the University’s testing sites. Instead:

• Students experiencing COVID-like symptoms should stay home and contact the Barnes Health Center by phone at 315.443.8000. Please do not visit the Barnes Center until you’ve spoken with a team member there by phone.
• Faculty and staff experiencing COVID-like symptoms should stay home and contact their primary care physician.

If you are uncertain about what steps you should take if you come down with COVID, please visit the .

Testing Hours and Locations:

Testing hours and locations for the upcoming week are:

• Saturday, March 19: Closed
• Sunday, March 20: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Kimmel)
• Monday, March 21: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Stadium, Gate N)
• Tuesday, March 22: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Stadium, Gate N)
• Wednesday, March 23: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Stadium, Gate N) and 4-7 p.m. (Kimmel)
• Thursday, March 24: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Stadium, Gate N)
• Friday, March 25: 8:30-10:30 a.m. (Stadium, Gate N)
• Saturday, March 26: Closed
• Sunday, March 27: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Kimmel)

Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other and demonstrate support to those in our community who continue to wear masks and take other public health precautions. We all continue to experience the pandemic differently, and for that reason it’s critically important that we continue to extend grace and empathy to all our classmates, colleagues and friends.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Last week, the University announced that pending current public health conditions, it would move to masking level “Yellow.” After assessing the current landscape, both here on campus and throughout Central New York, effective tomorrow, Monday, March 14, the University is officially at masking level “Yellow.”

As a reminder, this means:

• For Unvaccinated Community Members: Masks are REQUIRED for all unvaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus indoors at all times, and outdoors when in the presence of others.
• For Vaccinated Community Members: Masks are RECOMMENDED for vaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors in the presence of others, and outdoors in large group settings.
• For ALL Community Members: Masks continue to be REQUIRED on all public transit (including the ���ϲ����� Shuttle) and when visiting any health care facility (including the Barnes Health Center and the Kimmel and Stadium Testing Centers).

Thank you for your continued cooperation and for all you’ve done since the onset of the pandemic. Our community’s efforts and commitment to public health made this action possible.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

In recent weeks, the , , the Onondaga County executive, and many of our national and New York state peer institutions have announced significant changes to public health guidelines. Primarily, these changes relate to reduced indoor masking requirements, including the elimination of mask mandates for children attending K-12 public schools across New York state.

Here on the ���ϲ����� campus, we­ continue to pursue a public health policy that is aligned with local conditions and local data. Accordingly, I’m writing today to announce that, conditions permitting, the University will transition on Monday, March 14, to the “Yellow” level on the . This action would align our masking practices on campus with the most recent guidance from the CDC, and those in place in the local community and around the country.

Under the “Yellow” masking level:

• Masks are REQUIRED for all unvaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus indoors at all times, and outdoors when in the presence of others.
• Masks are RECOMMENDED for vaccinated students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors in the presence of others, and outdoors in large group settings.

In addition to the recent changes on masking announced by the CDC and New York State, there are several other indicators and metrics informing this action, including:

• Vaccination and booster policy compliance rates are extremely high—for students, 98%, for faculty, 100% and for staff, 99%.
• The number of COVID hospitalizations in Onondaga County has dropped to its lowest number since September 2021.
• The number of patients in intensive care locally dropped to the lowest point in five months.
• We continue to experience very low positivity rates from our random surveillance testing program, averaging between 0.9% and 2.1% over the past five weeks.

Please note that ���ϲ����� will continue to offer free and on-demand COVID testing to students, faculty, staff and families. Further, we will also continue our random surveillance testing program and wastewater testing of our residence halls. However, to further ease the COVID-related requirements for fully vaccinated individuals, we will begin to reduce the number of vaccinated individuals required to test each week, while prioritizing ongoing testing for vaccine-exempt individuals. Please visit the for the most up-to-date testing hours.

The action we’re announcing today is possible because of our community’s commitment to good public health practices—particularly the overwhelming campus community compliance with the University’s COVID vaccination and booster requirement.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the health and wellness of our community.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

SPRING BREAK TESTING HOURS
All tests will be conducted at Kimmel Hall:

Sunday, March 13: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Monday, March 14: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 15: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 16: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4–7 p.m.
Thursday, March 17: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Friday, March 18: 8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Saturday, March 19: Closed

As always, testing hours and locations can be found on the .

Last week, ���ϲ����� transitioned to level “Blue” on our campus masking framework. At the time, we announced masks would continue to be required during events at our stadium until further notice. After reviewing pandemic conditions over the last several days—both on campus and throughout our region—and following consultation with public health officials and other large venue operators across New York state, we are revising masking requirements for all events held at the stadium.

Effective, Wednesday, March 2, masks will no longer be required for stadium visitors who have been fully vaccinated. Individuals who are vaccine-exempt or who have not yet been fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks, except when actively eating or drinking. In addition, the following guidelines remain in effect:

• All fans 5 years and older will have to show proof of full vaccination or proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter the stadium.
• Newborns to age 4 do not require a vaccination or a test result to enter the facility.

Masks will continue to be required at the Stadium Testing Center. It is possible that some performers scheduled to appear at the stadium in the future may require attendees to be masked, and we will communicate those requirements on a case-by-case basis.

This action represents the latest step in the University’s ongoing efforts to transition its public health strategy from pandemic to endemic disease response. We will continue monitoring public health conditions and share additional action as necessary.

We appreciate the continued support of our campus community, fans and visitors and your attention to our public health guidelines. To learn more about the University’s COVID response, please visit and to review the stadium public health protocols, visit .

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Where do local school districts go from here in navigating an increasingly polarized environment?

George Theoharis

is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Inclusive Elementary/Early Childhood Education at ���ϲ�����. He has extensive experience as a principal and teacher. His research specialties include equity, social justice, diversity, inclusion, urban education, and school reform.

Theoharis says:

“We are not going to see this charged environment end soon as it is a product of our increasingly polarized nation and an increasingly emboldened minority of people who are openly racist, openly anti-science, openly hostile to the idea of the common good.

“School board elections are becoming increasingly important to protect the common good and support schools becoming more inclusive of historically and currently marginalized communities. Educators, administrators, board members, and community members cannot accept as a new normal the kind of threats and intimidation that we are seeing. This moment requires strong courageous leadership and strong community organizing to work together to protect a diverse, equitable, inclusive, pro-science, and pro-common good agenda.”

To request interviews or get more information please contact Daryl Lovell, Media Relations Manager, at dalovell@syr.edu or 315.380.0206

Thank you for your continued commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of our community throughout the COVID pandemic. As you are aware, shortly after the start of the fall semester, the University’s was elevated to “Red” based on increasing COVID cases, hospitalizations and test positivity rates on campus, in Central New York and across New York state. The University’s COVID level has remained at “Red” since Aug. 28. However, today I am writing to inform you that effective Monday, Feb. 21, our campus will transition to level “Blue.”

What does this action mean for you?

As defined by our COVID framework, level “Blue” indicates an elevated level of transmission risk on campus. “Blue” campus masking guidelines mean:

• For all students, faculty and staff who are vaccinated and boosted:
  • Masks Strongly Recommended:
    • When indoors on campus, and outdoors in the presence of others.
  • Masks Required at All Times:
    • During academic instruction (inclusive of classrooms, laboratories, libraries, studios and lecture venues); and
    • During non-academic events and in certain facilities (such as the Barnes Center), as determined by a public health risk assessment. These exceptions will be communicated directly as appropriate, to include the installation of signage as required.

• For vaccine-exempt individuals (approved religious or medical exemption), or if you have not yet received a booster dose of the COVID vaccine:
  • Masks are required at all times and in all facilities while on campus, and outdoors when in the presence of others.

Why did the University make this decision?

On Thursday, Feb. 10, the New York State Department of Health allowed its existing statewide indoor masking order to expire, and the Onondaga County Health Department did the same. This action was in response to dramatically declining COVID cases across the state and here in Onondaga County. Locally, the Onondaga County Health Department is reporting that the weekly average number of new cases in the county has declined by 85% since mid-January, and hospitalizations have decreased by 58%.

In addition, as a campus community we are extraordinarily well-protected from the potential negative health implications associated with the COVID illness. I’m pleased to share that as of today, 100% of eligible faculty and 99% of eligible staff are compliant with the University’s COVID vaccine and booster requirements. Less than 2.3% of students are not yet compliant with our booster policy, and we are working with that group of students to bring them into compliance as soon as possible. Further, while new case data continues to fluctuate on a daily basis, the trend has been a consistent decline in new cases relative to January’s numbers. In addition, surveillance testing data has returned consistently low rates of test positivity on campus. Last week’s test positivity stemming from our random surveillance program was 1% (down from 2% the previous week and 2.2% the week prior).

Recent policy changes associated with indoor masking for vaccinated individuals announced by the New York State Department of Health and Onondaga County Health Department—combined with the extraordinary vaccination and booster compliance among students, faculty and staff and also data suggesting declining levels of campus transmission—have informed this action.

Are masks required at the stadium?

At this time, ���ϲ����� will continue to require masks at events in the stadium, except when patrons are actively eating or drinking. However, we are currently engaged with public health officials and other large venue operators across New York state to assess possible adjustments to our current stadium masking requirements for vaccinated individuals. Given those conversations and our continued monitoring of local conditions, we will communicate any anticipated changes to the masking policy.

These changes mean enhanced autonomy to vaccinated individuals related to indoor masking on campus. At the same time, it is also important to note that many among us will choose to continue masking while on campus. We fully support those individuals and ask that as a community, we continue to demonstrate respect, grace and empathy toward each other as individuals and families continue to navigate the daily challenges associated with COVID.

Thank you to everyone in our community for your continued cooperation and adherence to the University’s public health guidelines, and for your ongoing commitment to a safe and healthy campus.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Pat Penfield

Supply chain expert , from ���ϲ�����’s Whitman School of Management, offers thoughts on the impact of a possible strike by port workers and what it might mean when coupled with current strain on the world’s supply chain of goods. Prof. Penfield is available for interview for your coverage. Please see below for his comments:

“2022 will continue to be a challenging year for many global supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic with its variants is still impacting different parts of the world at different times, extreme weather events, such as snowstorms, are preventing areas within the US from producing and moving materials, cyber security issues continue to disrupt supply chains while shutting down businesses. Geo-political issues could also threaten our supply of energy and semi-conductor chips. But a possible strike by longshoreman may have the greatest impact and will hurt already overwhelmed ports in California. This, coupled with the ‘bull whip effect’ of excess ordering, will cause large inventory issues for a number of companies.”

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Keith Kobland, Media Relations Manager, at kkobland@syr.edu or 315.415.8095