- Ithaca College strongly encourages all students and employees to receive a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster as we enter into the fall and winter months.
- Students can book an appointment to receive a flu shot on campus by contacting Student Health Services at (607) 274-3177. Employees are encouraged to utilize the numerous resources available in the local community.
- Monkeypox vaccines will soon be available at the Student Health Center on campus. More details to follow in the coming weeks.
- COVID testing will remain available at Boothroyd Hall seven days a week for the remainder of the Fall 2022 semester. Read below for hours of operation.
- Effective immediately, Ithaca College has approved an isolation in place protocol if cases rise to the level where there is no longer available capacity within Boothroyd Hall.
- Effective immediately, Ithaca College has discontinued its operational status webpage. Updated COVID-19 case numbers will still continue to be tracked and published on the college's COVID-19 Dashboard.
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Dear Ithaca College Community,
I share this message with you to provide some important public health updates for our IC community as we near the midway point in the Fall 2022 semester. First, I would like to congratulate our community for your diligence and commitment to adhering to good public health practices during the opening month of the semester. Your responsible actions allowed us to quickly minimize the brief increase in COVID-19 cases during the first weeks of the academic year, allowing the campus to proceed without disruption.
As we now move deeper into the colder months of the fall season, it is important that we continue to remain vigilant and be ever mindful in our efforts to prioritize our personal health and wellness. Please keep reading for helpful reminders and updates as we forge ahead this semester.
Get Vaccinated for COVID-19 and Flu
The best way that we can prevent severe illness as a result of communicable diseases is to be proactive in maintaining our immunity by receiving vaccines. Ithaca College strongly encourages members of our IC community to receive both a flu shot and a COVID booster shot. Being fully vaccinated is especially important as it becomes colder outside, and we all spend more time indoors.
I encourage members of our community to review this recent message regarding flu shots for our campus community. As a reminder, all students are able to schedule an appointment to receive a flu shot on campus by contacting Student Health Services at (607) 274-3177. Employees are encouraged to seek out the numerous available resources in our local community including primary healthcare facilities and local pharmacies.
Updated COVID-19 boosters, more effective at limiting incidence of severe illness from the Omicron variant of the virus, are also now available. All members of our campus community are eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster if they meet the following criteria:
- 12+ years of age
- 2+ months removed from their original vaccine series or most recent booster shot
- 90+ days removed from a previous COVID infection
Updated COVID-19 boosters are currently not available on campus. However, they are widely available within the local Ithaca community. I encourage our campus community to utilize the vaccines.gov website to learn more and find available appointments near you.
On-Campus Monkeypox Vaccine Distribution Coming to Student Health Services
We are pleased to announce that the monkeypox vaccine will be available on campus for our students soon. Final details and timing of when the vaccine will be available will be shared in the coming weeks.
Testing Remains Available at Boothroyd Hall for Fall 2022 Semester
If you are feeling unwell, it is important to continue to seek out immediate testing to confirm your COVID status. Boothroyd Hall will continue to offer free and open testing for students, faculty, and staff through the remainder of the Fall 2022 semester. Below are the operational hours for testing at Boothroyd Hall:
Monday – Friday | 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday | 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Protocol Changes Regarding COVID-19 Isolation
For the past several weeks we have continued to see a very low incidence of positive COVID cases within our campus community. As a result, Ithaca College is enacting some protocol changes concerning how it is handling COVID-19 isolation when a positive case is identified within our community. Boothroyd Hall will continue to serve as the college’s isolation housing space for residential IC students for the remainder of the Fall 2022 semester. However, effective immediately, if cases rise to the point where there is no longer available capacity within Boothroyd Hall, Ithaca College will approve isolation in place within a student’s assigned residence hall room. Employees and students living in off-campus residences should fulfill their mandatory isolation in their spaces off campus.
As a reminder, current COVID isolation protocols call for five days of self-isolation following a positive COVID diagnosis. Students and employees are able to return to classes or work following the conclusion of their five-day isolation period, but should continue to wear face coverings for an additional five days or until symptoms resolve.
COVID-19 Operation Status Discontinued
Effective immediately, Ithaca College will be discontinuing its operational status webpage. Over the past two and half years, this has been a wonderful tool as we have seen incidence of COVID-19 rise and fall. However, as the dynamics of COVID have changed, the metrics which have been used to determine our operational status are no longer applicable to our current circumstances. Ithaca College will continue to update the campus community should any operational changes be needed. The COVID-19 Dashboard that displays current case numbers will continue to operate and will continue to be updated daily, Monday-Friday.
In conclusion, thank you again for your hard work in maintaining the collective health of our IC community.
Sincerely,
Samm Swarts
Assistant Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Office of Public Safety and Emergency Management