Although state health officials have approved student vaccine mandates at four private colleges, LSU and the University of Louisiana System do not plan to seek a similar mandate until federal regulators fully approve the COVID-19 vaccines now being distributed.

I saw a billboard on a trip to Texas to see my grandchildren with the word “freedom” beside a picture of someone taking off their mask. It certainly is a thought shared by many. However, the most accurate picture depicting freedom in this pandemic is a picture of someone receiving the vaccine.

The frontlines of the pandemic look different now, 10 months into the COVID-19 battle. In this season of giving and joy, there’s comfort in knowing that a glimmer of returning to some sort of normalcy is so close. For months, the question of when a vaccine will be ready riddled conversations.

are a family of large RNA viruses that infect mammals and birds and cause respiratory infections and disease. There are seven known human coronaviruses that originally appear to have come from animals. Of these seven human coronaviruses, four are largely benign and cause 25-30% of the common cold cases.