UC requires COVID boosters, weighs online start amid Omicron

UCLA and six other University of California undergraduate campuses announced Tuesday that classes will begin remotely at the start of the new term, as colleges throughout the nation wrestle with plans for a safe return after winter break amid an increasingly serious surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Additionally, all eligible students and staff in the 10-campus UC system will be required to provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 booster shot, officials announced.

“The emergence of this new and fast-moving variant, coupled with student travel to and from campus and the prevalence of gatherings over the holidays, will present our campuses with a unique set of public health challenges as we begin the New Year,” UC President Michael V. Drake said in a letter to the chancellors, adding that the plan “may require campuses to begin the term using remote instruction in order to allow students to complete an appropriate testing protocol as they return to campus.”

The letter to chancellors comes as a growing number of universities and colleges push back in-person instruction after the winter break, when students are due to return to campuses from all over the state, country and world. Some universities on the East Coast have opted to finish exams remotely; others have implemented COVID-19 booster mandates for students and staff.

In addition to UCLA, the UC campuses that have announced a two-week delay are Irvine, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Diego; Davis announced a one-week delay. Many universities that are delaying in-person instruction have said campuses and on-campus housing will remain open.

UC Berkeley, which is on a semester schedule, starts later than most campuses and is monitoring the situation, as is UC Merced.

During UCLA’s delay, students and staff must participate in a robust coronavirus testing regimen and show proof of booster shots. All faculty and staff will be required to test once a week throughout the winter quarter, regardless of vaccination status, Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael J. Beck and Professor Megan McEvoy said in a statement to the UCLA community.

“This new safety protocol will help us to quickly identify the presence of COVID-19 in our community while limiting major disruption of campus activities and reducing the risk of serious complications from COVID-19, ” the statement said.

UC Irvine said its delay allows time for “extensive testing, retesting and sequestration following the winter recess,” spokesperson Sheri Ledbetter said.

In addition to online classes for the first two weeks of the term, UC Santa Cruz is recommending that faculty and staff hold meetings and events remotely.

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said in a statement that the school’s temporary move online anticipates “a surge that may coincide with the planned start of our in-person, residential Winter Quarter.” Campus residents can return but are being asked to stagger their arrival.

Large, indoor events at UC Riverside will be barred during the first two weeks of the new term as classes go remote until Jan. 17, said Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox. And UC Davis will begin remotely…