McCosh infirmary, East entrance.
Angel Kuo / The Daily Princetonian 

Editor’s Note: With the start of the 147th Board, the top item in the newsletter will be an analysis that seeks to put top stories in context.  Please reach out to managingeditor@dailyprincetonian.com with any feedback.

Good morning! With many COVID-19 precautions on campus months in the past, UHS administrator Irini Daskalaki  speaks with the ‘Prince’ about the the potential for a “tripledemic” of diseases this winter — a combination of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and COVID-19.

In a Q&A with the ‘Prince,’ Daskalaki suggested a variety of prevention measures: masking, vaccines, and staying home when sick. UHS’s call for individual preventative measures to address the “tripledemic” fits with the University’s approach to COVID-19 since most restrictions were lifted over the summer, when spokesperson Ayana Okoya urged students to “take personal responsibility.” This is a change from the University’s more heavy-handed approach to student health in 2020 and 2021 when students were sent home at the beginning of the pandemic and exams were pushed online in Fall 2021 as COVID-19 cases rose on campus. 

The spread of respiratory diseases on campus is not new. Last fall, a large number of students falling ill led the sickness to be christened the “Princeton Plague” as increasing numbers of students reached out to McCosh Health Center for medical attention. Although Daskalaki says that UHS doesn’t have “magic treatments” to make illnesses go away faster, she says that prevention is key to stopping the spread.

Analysis by Sidney Singer.