The University of Maryland will no longer require students, faculty and staff to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, the school announced Thursday afternoon.
Vaccines are still "strongly recommended," the emailed announcement to the campus from University Health Center director Dr. Spyridon Marinopoulos said.
"We are glad to have our full community back on campus and are pleased that with the start of the semester, our COVID-19 cases have remained low and, reassuringly, the new subvariants of COVID-19 are not translating into severe illness for most people," the email read.
Marinopoulos attributed the low community spread, at least in part, to "our students, faculty and staff having received the initial vaccine and booster."
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"At this time, COVID-19 vaccines and treatments are widely available, and most of the population has reached a sufficient level of immunity, thereby reducing the impact of the virus. Therefore, effective today, proof of COVID-19 vaccination will no longer be required at the University of Maryland."
Despite the University no longer requiring proof, the email from Marinopoulos emphasized that COVID-19 is here to stay, and that staying up-to-date on vaccines and boosters is "the best way to protect yourself from getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19."
"We strongly encourage everyone to assess your personal COVID-19 health risk and take appropriate measures. If you are at high risk, you are strongly encouraged to seek advice from your personal physician," the email read.
UMD announced in April 2021 that it would require vaccination against COVID-19 for "all eligible students, faculty, and staff" who would be on campus that fall.
People returning to campus were asked to confirm their vaccine status in an online UMD portal.
The change in UMD's policy comes weeks after the U.S. announced it would end the COVID-19 pandemic emergency declarations in May of this year.
