The University of Wyoming announced its COVID-19 plan for the beginning of the fall semester of 2021, and with that came mandatory COVID-19 tests for all returning students, faculty, and staff.

Beginning today (Friday), students, faculty, and staff will receive individual emails directing them to schedule testing appointments between Wednesday, August 18, and Sunday, August 22.

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Those who do not follow the testing directive will face disciplinary consequences, up to and including dismissal for employees, and a loss of university access for students due to temporary suspension. The testing requirement applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

The Board of Trustees directed that all employees and students be tested upon return to the university as part of a plan to proceed with a traditional, in-person fall semester while taking steps to manage COVID-19 amid an increase in cases locally and nationally.

UW requires all faculty, staff, and students who are vaccinated to report it, in order to allow the university to track overall vaccination numbers.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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