In a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11, the UM Board of Curators rejected temporary mask mandates for the start of the spring semester.
Mun Choi, Chancellor of MU and president of the UM system, asked to require masks indoors for students, faculty and staff. He also proposed a mask requirement in classrooms and student labs. Both recommendations were rejected in separate votes due to skepticism on whether the mask mandate would help slow the spread. Along with this, the board noted that the city of Columbia and Boone County do not currently have mask mandates.
However, in an email sent to MU students and faculty, Choi strongly advises wearing a “quality, well-fitting mask regardless of vaccination status while indoors or in crowded outdoor settings,” and that “the best protection against the virus remains vaccination, including getting a booster shot.”
According to the CDC, the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine is highly effective against hospitalization for the general adult population. Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant, the CDC said.
MU strongly encourages everyone to get the vaccine and booster to slow the spread of the virus. In addition to community vaccine appointments, according to the email, UM System universities are planning walk-in, on-campus clinics for students, faculty and staff to receive free vaccines or boosters.
Information for MU vaccinations sites can be found on https://renewal.missouri.edu/vaccine/. To find other vaccination sites near you, information can be found on https://www.vaccines.gov/.
Edited by Namratha Prasad | nprasad@themaneater.com