Marist Mask Mandate: It’s Time to Reevaluate

Marist mask mandate in academic buildings as a temporary measure should be reevaluated which ultimately comes down to vaccine status

Photo by engin akyurt via Unsplash

At the very beginning of this semester, Marist announced that regardless of vaccination status, anyone inside an academic building on campus must wear a mask to be allowed into the building. At this point in the semester, the campus has maintained a very low COVID-19 transmission rate with a total of 102 recovered faculty and students, and only 12 active cases between faculty and students as of Nov. 8, 2021. This is a far lower case rate as compared to this time last year when we saw active COVID-19 cases reach nearly triple digits. This in part is because on campus, there is a 96% vaccination rate amongst all faculty and students. 

Overall, this semester has seen a low case count which has allowed for campus to operate in a close-to-normal capacity, with the main exception being the need to mask inside all academic buildings. At this point in the semester, we can have a level of confidence in our transmission and vaccination rates to discard the mask mandate inside academic buildings on campus with only the exception being for those who are unvaccinated and run a greater risk of infection and transmission. At this point in time, the mandate should be dropped, and masking inside academic buildings should be left up to the discretion of the individual.

Ultimately, this discussion comes down to vaccination rates on campus. Since vaccines have been widely administered, there is data available to prove that vaccines are effective in preventing illness and hospitalization among those who are vaccinated. COVID-19 Breakthrough Data as of Nov. 8, 2021, shows that of those 12 years and older who are vaccinated in New York State, 137,380 (or 1.1%) tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving the full series of vaccines. The hospitalization rate is even lower with only 9,044 (or 0.07%) being hospitalized for complications due to COVID-19 out of the population of those 12 years and older who are fully vaccinated. This data is very promising, and a testament to the effectiveness of vaccinations. Within the Marist community, we currently have a 96% vaccination rate that can allow us some confidence in relaxing this mandate for the vaccinated population on campus.

In terms of masking directly, the recommendation by the CDC for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) says that masking is recommended in high transmission areas such as dorms and apartments where no mandate currently exists. In terms of the Marist community, we have a low level of cases on campus, and the data from the dashboard suggests that throughout this semester, there has been a low transmission rate thanks to high vaccination rates in the campus population. 

In the surrounding region off-campus, however, there has been an uptick in cases where the rate of positivity sits at just below 3% according to the Dutchess County COVID-19 Dashboard. This fact should be considered, and faculty and students should be aware of a rise in positive cases in the surrounding community that can influence the Marist community. However, vaccinated individuals have less of a chance to be infected with COVID-19, which should also be noted by the College even with a positivity rate in the region around campus.

Again, this mask mandate reevaluation comes down to vaccination status, and it's no doubt that the college considers this whilst creating policy on campus surrounding COVID-19. Since we have seen a far lower case count for students and faculty, and a solid vaccination rate on-campus, we should reconsider our mask mandate for those vaccinated faculty and students on campus in the academic buildings where the temporary mandate exists.