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College's COVID vaccination requirements remain after Supreme Court ruling

A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court this week will not affect Michigan State University’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Thursday’s 6-3 ruling found the Biden administration does not have the authority to require workers at large businesses with more than 100 employees to either get vaccinated against COVID, or test regularly.

At Michigan State University, a vaccine mandate for students, faculty and staff has been in place since the fall.

Dan Olsen, a spokesperson for MSU, says regardless of the court ruling, the vaccine rules at the university are staying in place.

“We will continue forward with those requirements for our spring semester, including the recently added booster requirement," he said.

Members of the campus community must confirm with the university by the beginning of February that they have received a booster shot. That’s unless they have a religious or medical exemption.

"We want to make sure all our students, faculty and staff have boosters as well as are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to help create a safer campus community," he added.

The university began its spring semester remotely this week, with 2 more weeks of virtual instruction to follow.

Olsen says the university intends to return to in-person learning the week of Jan. 31 but continues to closely monitor COVID-19 numbers.

As WKAR's Bilingual Latinx Stories Reporter, Michelle reports in both English and Spanish on stories affecting Michigan's Latinx community. Michelle is also the voice of WKAR's weekend news programs.