IU Chief Health Officer Dr. Aaron Carroll shared guidance on COVID and monkeypox for the new semester during a webinar Thursday.
Guidance for COVID remains largely unchanged. The Centers for Disease Control have updated their guidelines for those exposed to COVID, saying that rather than quarantining at home, wearing a mask in public is sufficient until being tested.
Vaccination rates may be low in Indiana, but are high among IU staff. Carroll said getting a booster vaccine remains the best way to protect yourself from a serious case.
Carroll also addressed the monkeypox outbreak, which has infected 84 Hoosiers as of Tuesday. While the disease causes painful and unsightly sores, the disease is far less transmissible and lethal than COVID.
Carroll said that because monkeypox requires physical contact to transmit, it is highly unlikely to disrupt campus to the same extent as COVID. Carroll expected that close, non-sexual contact will become the largest transmission risk on campus, and urged caution for students in congregate living situations, such as Greek houses.
Carroll said COVID remains the greater risk, and encouraged caution despite looser guidelines.
