Marquette University announces booster shot requirement, delays first day of classes

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Marquette University announced several changes Wednesday, Jan. 5, in light of Covid-19 cases and percent positivity in the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.

The university is delaying the first day of undergraduate, Graduate School and Law School classes until Monday, Jan. 24, with residence hall move-in for the second semester taking place Jan. 22-23. 

Booster shots will be required for students and "strongly recommended" for faculty and staff. 

Proof of boosters must be uploaded to the MU Medical Clinic portal by Feb. 1 or based on eligibility:

• Six months after receiving a second dose of the Moderna vaccine
• Five months after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine
• Two months after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

The university says faculty, staff and students who do not comply will be subject to weekly testing during the spring semester.

In addition, MU will require well-fitting masks indoors on campus until further notice. 

Marquette says these changes were made after closely monitoring developments related to the omicron variant, in part to give individuals more opportunities to get vaccinated or boosted and move past the expected local peak in cases mid-January.