February 21, 2022

Dear CSU Community,

Throughout the COVID pandemic and thanks to our shared commitment to our community, Colorado State University has been both stalwart and flexible in our approach to public health precautions.  We’ve worked closely with public health officials here at CSU, in Larimer County, and at both the state and national level to adapt our own protocols and practices to respond to the changing landscape and meet the needs of our community.

Consistent with this approach and beginning this week, we will be consolidating our existing pod locations and offering voluntary antigen testing at the consolidated sites.  We will also continue to refer members of the CSU community who report symptoms or an exposure through the COVID Reporter for a PCR test. Saliva screening is discontinued on all our campuses effective immediately.

Why the change?

Again, this shift is in response to a great deal of data and in consultation with our own and our partner experts.  We currently have a less than 1% positivity rate on the saliva tests we have been conducting. Meanwhile, the number of members of the CSU community who report that they have been vaccinated and boosted continues to rise. These two factors combine speak to the success of our practices up until this point and allow us to pivot to a new strategy when it comes to saliva screening versus antigen testing.

Just a few weeks ago, I announced our plan to continue to require masks on our Larimer County campuses until the COVID case rate in the county falls below substantial levels.  This has not changed.  And consistent with national recommendations, we will also continue to require students, faculty and staff to either provide documentation of their vaccination and booster or submit an exemption.  Twice-weekly saliva screening will no longer be required for any member of the CSU community; instead, antigen testing will be available on a voluntary basis. We will continue to follow up with those students, faculty or staff members who have submitted neither vaccination documentation nor an exemption.

The Pandemic Preparedness Team will follow this message with more detailed information about the shift from saliva screening to antigen testing on our campuses. Please watch your email for that communication.

Thank you all for your continued commitment to keeping our community healthy.

Sincerely,

Joyce McConnell