A substantial number of US colleges and universities have stated that students will require to have a COVID-19 vaccination prior to returning to campus this fall. This would allow students to return to in-person classes as well as move into the provided campus housing.
According to information from the Chronicle of Higher Education, in excess of 680 public and private colleges covering the length and breadth of the US, will make receiving a COVID-19 vaccination compulsory to their students. Some of the first institutions to announce this mandate included the likes of Duke University and Cornell University.
Similar mandates have already been put in place, requiring college students to be vaccinated against other diseases including measles and mumps, with a COVID-19 jab set to be next made statutory.
Why Are Colleges Requiring their Students to be Vaccinated?
Towards the beginning of the pandemic, when the virus spread across the US at an alarming pace, colleges and universities across the US shut down, declaring the beginning of online learning for their students. Some colleges did decide to allow students to return to their campuses towards the end of the year, however there were various restrictions established in different institutions such as limited capacity classrooms and residence halls as well as mandatory mask wearing across campus.
“Campuses really want to get back to normal operations as quickly as possible,” declared Chris Marsicano, an education professor and founding director of the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College in North Carolina.
With the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination against the virus evident, there is increasing hope that students will be able to return to their in-person lectures and study groups besides to enjoying the extra-curricular activities, and therefore having a more regular college experience.
Chief health officer at the University of Michigan, Dr Preeti Malani, said: “If you can ensure a highly vaccinated community, you can get back to a lot of those things safely”
Dr Malani continues by stating that the vaccinations will not only be able to protect the individual but also protect whole communities. She express her opinion on the available vaccine as “safe and effective” and she motivates students to think about other people when deciding whether to get the vaccination.
There can be exemptions given to certain students due to laws put in place in numerous states and religious beliefs. Therefore, institutions might have to push unvaccinated students to enroll in course available online instead.
For the full list of Colleges Requiring a COVID-19 Vaccine, CLICK HERE
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