DAVIS, Calif. — The University of California is considering requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster before returning to campus in response to the omicron variant.
UC President Michael Drake said he is asking the university and public health experts to come up with a plan for January for a safe return for students. Drake said students traveling to and from campus and family gatherings create challenges for the UC school system.
Drake recommends a plan that has a test, sequester and retest model.
"The evidence is clear that receiving a booster is essential to protecting yourself and those around you from Omicron and other variants," Drake said in a statement. "Therefore, I am also asking each of you to communicate the critical importance of boosters to your campus community, especially at this stage of the pandemic."
Potentially, students could be required to learn remotely at the start of the quarter. How each campus conducts remote instruction could vary from campus to campus.
In a letter to faculty, staff and students, UC Davis said they'll be opening the winter quarter remotely from Jan. 3 through Jan. 7. They said this will give everyone enough time to get a negative COVID test before attending classes or coming to work on Jan. 10. They'll also be maintaining a requirement for testing every two weeks for people already vaccinated and every four days for people who aren't.
UC Davis said a systemwide mandate for the booster will also be in place for all faculty, staff, and students who don't have an exemption in place.
This comes as California health experts are saying the state will likely avoid spikes in hospitalizations and deaths because most people are either fully vaccinated or already infected.
The omicron variant is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the country, which accounts for 73% of new infections last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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AAA is expected around 109 million travel to hit the road and airports nationwide for the holidays. That's about 14 million in Northern California.