USC Covid vaccine requirements: Does the college mandate vaccination among basketball players?

The USC COVID vaccine requirements have been talked about after the news of Bronny James' cardiac arrest. There has been some questions surrounding the requirements and if the students need to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 before stepping foot on campus.

According to the University of Southern California's COVID-19 vaccination program, there's currently no requirement for students, including basketball players, to have the vaccine.

"USC strongly recommends that all students, faculty, and staff become Fully Vaccinated against COVID-19 and thereafter receive booster doses when recommended.

"Some students, faculty, and staff may be subject to heightened requirements related to COVID-19 vaccination. ... All students, faculty, and staff who are subject to heightened requirements must comply with those requirements."

During the global pandemic, COVID vaccines were mandatory for all USC students, but the rules have gotten laxer and changed to 'strongly recommended'.

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Did Bronny James have COVID vaccine before joining USC?

This is the question as anti-vaxxers have jumped to the conclusion that the COVID vaccine has played a cause in his cardiac arrest. One of the people that has jumped into the debate is Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Bronny James, and the entire James family, have received the COVID-19 vaccine, as his father, LeBron James, said during a September 2021 press conference.

That means whatever USC COVID vaccine requirements that are issued through the university would not affect Bronny, as he was already vaccinated regardless of his collegiate career.

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What is the USC COVID vaccine requirement for students currently?

As of now, the USC COVID vaccine is strongly recommended but not mandatory. At the height of the pandemic, it was required, but since the pandemic has abated in the eyes of the CDC, the University of Southern California has decided to remove the mandatory nature of the vaccine for students on campus.

Whether or not the USC COVID vaccine mandate was in place, Bronny James and his entire family were vaccinated. That means there's no reason that people should be linking the two things together as a cause of cardiac arrest for the young athlete. Unfortunately, there are about 0.75 cases of cardiac arrest per 100,000 athletes in a year, according to the National Library of Medicine.

All that's left to do is understand that things like this do happen and wish Bronny James the best as he begins his path to a full recovery.