the new variant is infecting people, but they are hardly being physically affected. not to sound insensitive, but in a university-aged environment where the VAST MAJORITY are vaccinated, cases DO NOT lead to death or hospitalization. the worst I've heard vaxxed individuals dealing with are slight sore throats. call me a bad person, but I think closing a school for a virus that causes sore throats is insane. The vaccine works exactly as it claims to. It doesn't eliminate the possibility of getting covid, but it minimizes the symptoms, and practically eliminates the likelihood of death and hospitalization.

Must be nice for prestigious ivy-leagues and grossly affluent private schools who have high endowments that lets them be able to go online whenever they damn please. JMU, and many other state schools, do not have that luxury. We can't afford that. And do you want all those employed by the university, those who work in the dining halls and such, to lose their jobs? The livelihoods that help feed their families?

Maybe I'm jaded, but between delta and omicron, we as a society should realize that this is never going away and will continue to mutate. We must learn to live with it. We can't keep shutting everything down for a new strain - where has that gotten us? Require vaccines, require boosters, provide proper testing protocols, and provide the opportunity for exposed people to properly quarantine.

And YES, I am fully vaccinated, and have received a booster shot. Also - not that it should factor into this, but I am a Democrat. But I think this hysteria and insistence on shutting everything down is getting too ridiculous to continue long term, as it is pretty clear that covid will not be eradicated in our lifetimes. Truthfully, if you can remain civil, I would love to have a discussion where you enlighten me to why shutting down for covid on a nonstop cycle is a good idea.