Students vaccinated outside US required to get WHO-approved vaccine

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Syracuse University international students who have taken or plan to take a COVID-19 vaccine outside of the United States can meet the university’s vaccination requirement as long as the vaccine is approved by the World Health Organization.

Students who are not vaccinated or received vaccines that are not approved by the WHO must take an approved vaccine before they can access campus. As of Tuesday, the WHO has approved Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Serum Institute of India vaccines for emergency use. 

SU announced in early April that it will require all students and employees who access campus to be vaccinated starting on June 1. Students can access campus upon receiving all doses of an approved vaccine and uploading documentation into the Student Patient Portal, Peter Vanable, associate provost for graduate studies and dean of the graduate school, and Juan Tavares, director of the Center for International Services, said in an SU News release.

Students who haven’t been able to receive a WHO-approved vaccine should plan to arrive in Syracuse early enough to receive the vaccine, Vanable and Tavares said in the release. If students receive two-dose vaccines such as Pfizer or Moderna, they may need to arrive in the U.S. 21 or 28 days, respectively, prior to the move-in date.  

All SU students are expected to study on campus and attend in-person classes, according to the release. The university lifted its mask wearing and social distancing mandate for fully vaccinated people on May 24. Fully vaccinated students and employees are no longer required to participate in the weekly surveillance COVID-19 testing. 

“We are confident that the 2021-22 academic year will provide a normal, vibrant on-campus experience,” Vanable and Tavares said in the release.

The Biden administration will ease travel restrictions for many international students starting Aug 1.