Mercer will no longer require students, faculty and staff who are fully vaccinated to wear masks on any of its campuses, according to an email from the university Monday. The updated guidance is a stark...

Mercer University quietly changed its COVID-19 protocols in a document posted to its coronavirus page Tuesday. The document is an updated version of one that was released in June. The updates reduce the amount of time a student who tests positive for COVID-19 must be fever-free before ending their self-isolation and removes a previous suggestion that a student test negative twice before ending self-isolation. 

When enough people in a community are vaccinated against a disease, it can’t travel as easily from person to person, and the entire community is less likely to catch it. This phenomenon is called herd immunity, and it helps keep everyone safe.