Christopher Charleston/The Cougar
Since classes and events are going to be in person next semester with a university that is unable to have a lot of precautions such as a mask mandate and required vaccinations, students should still take their own precautions to keep our community safe.
This coming semester, UH will be having a lot fewer precautions regarding COVID-19. This is understandable as state law prevents the University from implementing certain precautions. While many want to go back to normal, there should still be caution for a few reasons.
One reason is not everyone is vaccinated yet. Only about 43 percent of Americans have been vaccinated, so you may come into contact with people who aren’t vaccinated come this fall.
Although many people are vaccinated, many people haven’t yet received or can’t get the vaccine due to a condition. It’s best to be cautious about being around people since the jury is still out on whether vaccinated people can be carriers of COVID-19.
The variants of this virus can be fairly dangerous. Although vaccinated people have been found to be mostly safe from these variants, they are more likely to put unvaccinated people in the hospital, meaning they may end up with life-altering effects after the virus.
There are some COVID-19 precautions students can do to remain cautious this fall semester. First, students can ask the people in their social circle if they’re vaccinated. If not, they can send them resources on where they can be vaccinated.
Another thing to remain cautious about is to wear a mask in indoor places like the Student Centers. If students wear their masks, this may encourage others to do so, which protects other unvaccinated people from the virus. Wearing a mask in public spaces can help protect unvaccinated people.
With more people on campus next semester, that means more parties. Try to find out who’s attending a party and try and find out their vaccination status. However, it may be a good idea to not go to parties where students don’t know most of the people. Keeping track of who they spend time with is a good COVID-19 precaution.
Texas state law has made it a lot harder for institutions like UH to have regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in the community. Especially when other colleges across the country require vaccinations, students should be doing whatever they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Students should be taking it upon themselves to take COVID-19 precautions and prevent the virus from breaking out in the community.
Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at [email protected]
