By Associated Press - Monday, March 1, 2021

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Students across the three-campus University of Alabama System will return to in-person instruction for the fall semester with no limits on class size in Birmingham, Huntsville or Tuscaloosa to guard against COVID-19, officials said Monday.

The system, which has held classes in multiple formats since the pandemic began a year ago, said in a statement that current models show it should be safe to resume traditional teaching after the summer break. Millions more should have the vaccine against the new coronavirus by then.

Dr. Selwyn Vickers, the medical dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and chair of the system pandemic task force, said leaders will continue trying to make decisions based on data and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state health agency.

“If safety concerns arise, we can adjust our plan; the safety of the 110,000 students, faculty and staff of the UA System remains our top priority as it has since our task force began its work one year ago when COVID-19 began to emerge,” he said.

The move to in-person teaching will affect the man campus in Tuscaloosa, UAB and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

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