The Envoy

By: Nikole Rajgor and Michael Tamsuriyamit

The City University of New York will soon say goodbye to its pandemic-era policy requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Starting May 23, Hunter and 21 other CUNY colleges will officially lift its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all students, faculty and staff. The remaining CUNY campuses, including Kingsborough, LaGuardia and Guttman Community College will end the mandate on June 16, according to a press release issued earlier this month.

“We are confident that this is the appropriate time for CUNY to lift the COVID vaccine requirement as a condition of enrollment or employment, though we continue to encourage all students, faculty and staff to stay up to date with vaccinations,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.

Along with the vaccination mandate, CUNY will end its COVID-19 testing program and on-campus testing sites by the end of June. The university will also eliminate the use of the Cleared4 health verification system to gain access to campus facilities.

The policy change will align CUNY with the U.S. federal government’s plan to let the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 declaration expire in May.

“As an immunocompromised student, this does concern me. While we have more or less started to recover from COVID, it is still not over,” said Shabiq Kennedy, a junior at Hunter College.

“Compile this with how many classes do not offer an online option, this is a disaster waiting to happen, especially in times where COVID cases do spike like at the end of holidays and vacations.”

Ahead of the university’s fall 2021 reopening, former New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that CUNY and SUNY would mandate vaccinations for students attending in-person classes.

CUNY subsequently rolled out its own series of pandemic policies, including the enforcement of periodic, random testing and a mask mandate for students on campus. At the start of 2022, Chancellor Rodríguez announced in agreement with Gov. Kathy Hochul that students taking in-person or hybrid courses would be required to get a COVID-19 booster shot.

CUNY eventually went on to lift its mask mandate in March of 2022.

The decision to end the vaccine mandate at the end of the spring term comes as the city sees progress in the three-year battle against the pandemic. According to recent city data, approximately 92% of New York City residents between ages 18-24 have completed their primary series of COVID-19 vaccinations. The city is also experiencing downward trends in the number of positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths among residents.

Despite the statistics, some still remain hesitant about CUNY loosening its policies.

“Winding down COVID measures makes sense, but dropping testing requirements or mask requirements for those who have chosen to avoid the vaccine feels potentially like a cost-saving measure rather than being in the best interest of the student body,” said Lucas Kulin, a junior at Baruch College.

“COVID seems to be the most dangerous for older people like me and people who have pre-existing conditions like my husband,” said Elizabeth Martinez-Bilgrey, an English professor at Hunter.

“We just continue to mask and get vaccinated. The young and healthy have to make their own risk assessments.”

Students can find more guidance on how the mandate lift will take effect on CUNY’s End of Vaccine Mandate FAQ page and its COVID-19 Info page.