Dear Wartburg community,

Of all the messages I’ve sent to you about SARS-CoV-2, today’s makes me the happiest.

On May 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance that essentially lets individuals who have been fully vaccinated return to normal daily activities without a mask.

The CDC bases its recommendation upon “the growing body of real-world evidence” indicating that the three available vaccines provide substantial protection to those who’ve been vaccinated, whether or not they come into contact with people not yet vaccinated.

From the beginning of this pandemic, the College has listened to the recommendations coming from the CDC, which is why today I am delighted to announce that effective today, May 15, 2021, we will lift the mask requirement on campus.

I want to echo, however, what both Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH have said repeatedly since these new recommendations were announced. The Campus Health Recovery Team (CHRT) and I strongly encourage every member of the community to secure vaccination, and we continue to encourage those not yet vaccinated to take every precaution, including masking and distancing.

The coronavirus pandemic is not over, and for those who are unvaccinated, the risk still remains. To learn where to obtain the vaccine, text your zip code to 438829, and the CDC will reply immediately, identifying nearby providers, often within an easy walk.

This decision does extend to the classroom, though individual faculty may still ask students to mask in their class, so please carry a mask with you. In keeping with the principle of “Knights Care,” please respect their wishes and extend the same courtesy to Wartburg staff in their office spaces. Though our classrooms have proven to be very low-risk environments – we are not aware of any confirmed transmissions in the classroom – we will continue to distance through the end of May Term, giving unvaccinated members of our community a bit more time to secure their vaccinations.

The College continues to take this issue very seriously, and will continue to monitor federal and local guidelines, as well as the prevalence of the virus in the community and on our campus. Numbers are quite low right now, but, if this changes, we may reconsider this step toward normalcy. As I’ve said before, a pandemic creates a very fluid situation.

Seniors might have additional questions about what these changes mean for Commencement. We will review our plans as soon as we can, and we’ll share any decisions with you and your families soon. Likewise, we will review and revise the guidelines listed on our Knights Care website and share a more comprehensive message updating them as soon as we can.

As I have said before, I hope — with even more confidence — that we will enjoy a relatively normal year when we reconvene in the fall. Obviously, that path becomes much smoother as more people become vaccinated, so again, if you are able to get vaccinated before classes begin again in August, please do so.

Yours,

Darrel Colson

President