SEMO to enjoy a few days off after reaching 70% vaccine milestone

Students, faculty and staff at Southeast Missouri State University will get an extended fall break this coming week leading into the Thanksgiving holiday thanks to the campus community surpassing its COVID-19 vaccination goal.

University president Carlos Vargas announced at the end of last month SEMO exceeded the 70% vaccination goal. Vargas promised at the beginning of the semester that if the university community reached this milestone in what was coined The Great SEMO Vaccine Give Away Get Away incentive program, classes and university offices would be closed Nov. 22 and 23 in addition to the regularly scheduled Thanksgiving days off.

Over the course of the semester, Southeast has also made its masking requirements less restrictive as university and local COVID-19 numbers decreased. Vaccination has most certainly played an important role in this effort.

Though COVID-19 is not behind us, it does seem we have turned a corner.