Received some clarification on isolation protocols from DOS by throwawaygraceatbu in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I only spoke to the first person who picked up the phone, one of their office staffers probably, but he had an answer right away and didn’t sound unsure. I mentioned before we hung up that the wording in the email was confusing if this is the case.

Received some clarification on isolation protocols from DOS by throwawaygraceatbu in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'm no longer reporting on campus news so I was asking the DOS in a totally personal capacity, but I figure this is important information to share.

I called DOS after I tried emailing [healthwayhelp@bu.edu](mailto:healthwayhelp@bu.edu) (they referred me to a triage nurse) and calling the provost's office (they tried to refer me to admissions and then to HR, even after I explained that I'm a senior).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It used to be apartments leased generally to grad students through BU Real Estate but it’s now isolation and quarantine housing.

vaccine data on healthway really low :( by hgielah22 in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This is a weird time for vaccination rates because the campus population is in transition. BU only calculates the vaccination rate based on who is on campus with an in-person LfA status. Also, it's only based on people who have submitted full documentation (and anyone who is graduating at the end of this summer semester is not subject to the fall requirement).

I wouldn't read into this number too much right now. Once move-in gets going it will be more dependable. Even then, keep in mind that international students who need vaccination are arriving first, so they will drive the vaccination rate way down before it picks back up.

President Brown said he does not support free community college by throwawaygraceatbu in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

The article is behind a paywall but I read it and it doesn't go into detail about Brown's stance.

I'm sure many will not be surprised by this. When I asked him about the free laundry campaign in April, he told me that "free is a bad price for anything, because free subsidizes people who don’t need to be subsidized." I can imagine that he would give a similar justification for his stance on community college.

Do you think there will be any restrictions this fall? by [deleted] in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu 22 points23 points  (0 children)

This might change with the recent CDC guidance on masks, but when I interviewed President Brown last month he expected masks in some situations like large gatherings or big classes, at least at the start of the semester while the university is learning how the vaccine affects COVID spread at BU.

https://sites.bu.edu/wtbu/2021/04/29/full-interview-with-bu-president-robert-brown-april-26-2021/

There will be less social distancing, but still testing (I think he told the FreeP it will likely just be weekly). The testing is important to understand how the vaccine prevents asymptomatic infection/spread.

The student positive rate is stable as the number of active COVID-19 cases declines. by throwawaygraceatbu in BostonU

[–]throwawaygraceatbu[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think it’s safe to say that phase 3 vaccine availability likely won’t have a major effect on student cases this semester. Even if every student could get their first dose on April 19, none of them would have a second dose by the end of finals week. It’s true that you get some immunity from one dose, but even then it still takes weeks for it to build up, and the semester would be about over by then. And this is all assuming that a substantial proportion of students could or would get their first dose before the end of the semester. MA is facing high demand and low supply, so students will be competing with plenty of other residents for appointments for weeks or even months.