At least five U.S. colleges and universities have announced plans to get students fully vaccinated before returning to campuses in the fall.
Students attending Cornell University, Rutgers University, Fort Lewis College, Nova Southeastern University, and St. Edward’s University must be fully vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall, with limited exemptions for underlying medical conditions and religious beliefs.
“A widely vaccinated student body is our best hope of returning to the hands-on, inclusive, experiential and personalized learning environment that we have all come to love,” Tom Stritikus, president of Fort Lewis College, wrote to the college community.
“As such, all students enrolling with FLC for the fall semester 2021 should receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” added Stritikus.
In a letter to the Cornell community, President Martha E. Pollack wrote that the university “plans to require vaccination for students returning to the Ithaca, Geneva and Cornell Tech campuses for the fall semester.”
Pollack wrote that the decision was made after “recent announcements of extensive vaccination in New York and other states, and increasing vaccine production,” making it “likely” that members of the community will be able to receive a vaccine in the spring or summer. .
Pollack added that individuals who cannot be vaccinated prior to their arrival for the fall semester, or whose vaccination is not recognized by the State of New York, are expected to be vaccinated as soon as possible after their arrival, and Cornell is exploring ways to mitigate this process. ease. “
Rutgers University leaders wrote a letter to their community last month, writing, “The anticipated additional availability of the COVID-19 vaccine allows Rutgers to take steps to protect and advance the health of our academic community. are moving towards a full return to our pre-pandemic normal as a vibrant institution in the fall of 2021. “
Nova Southeastern University released a statement on Friday announcing its intention to resume “full in-person classroom learning for on-the-ground courses” in the fall semester, and demand that students, faculty and staff returning to campuses be fully vaccinated .
On March 29, St. Edward’s University’s COVID-19 Steering Committee announced that the university will require the COVID-19 vaccine effective September 1 for all employees and students on campus aged 16 or older.
The announcements from a number of universities are because data shows that university students are a major spread of the virus. According to The New York Times, more than 120,000 cases of the coronavirus have been linked to U.S. colleges and universities since January 1, and more than 530,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.
However, some universities do not yet impose vaccination requirements, but instead try to encourage students to get vaccinated. Dickinson State University, for example, said students who can show proof of a full vaccination series can be exempted from the current campus-wide mask mandate.