Ohio State athletics emphasizes boosters in new COVID-19 protocols

Ohio State student-athletes who are eligible to receive COVID-19 booster shots will need one in order to be considered fully vaccinated under the athletic department’s new testing and contact tracing guidelines.

The revised protocols, which were obtained by The Dispatch through a public records request, redefine how the athletic department is handling the virus amid the Omicron variant. They put an emphasis on receiving a booster shot and mandate a five-day isolation period for everyone following a positive test.

Student-athletes who are more than five months removed from a second dose of the Moderna/Pfizer vaccine or two months from a Johnson & Johnson vaccination and have not received a booster are only considered partially vaccinated. Individuals who have both, or who have been infected within the previous 90 days, are considered fully vaccinated.