The presidents of the Massachusetts community colleges announced today that students, faculty, and staff at the commonwealth’s 15 community colleges must be fully vaccinated by January 2022.

The announcement comes amid a rise in the number of new cases of COVID-19 across the commonwealth, the increased access and availability of vaccines, the Food & Drug Administration’s full and pending approval of available vaccines, and CDC guidance that the COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to be extremely safe and highly effective at preventing infection, severe disease, hospitalization, and death.

Students who seek to register for courses that do not include any in-person component, and who do not plan to come on campus for any reason for the spring 2022 semester, will not be required to provide documentation of vaccination. All employees will be required to be vaccinated.