As academic institutions look toward the post-COVID-19 future of education, some are implementing strict vaccine requirements ahead of the upcoming semester as others incentivize or urge students to pick up the inoculations.
Many colleges already require students to provide proof of certain vaccines, but those have been in use for years. The three FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines are all less than a year old.
But now that vaccines are open in many places to people age 16 and up, colleges are beginning to look into how that can benefit their reopening plans.
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Colleges that will require proof of vaccination for students who want to live on campus include Oakland University in Michigan, Cornell University in upstate New York, Rutgers University in New Jersey, and Brown University in Rhode Island.
Colleges that will require proof of vaccination for students who want to live on campus include Oakland University in Michigan.
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“Students have an option to come to Oakland University and not stay in residence halls,” Oakland President Dr. Ora Pescovitz told Fox 2 Detroit this week. “Only 20%Â of our students live on campus. The other 80%Â are commuter students.”
The school is offering religious and medical exemptions to students who provide proof to the dean of students.
Leanne Montenegro, 21, covers her eyes as she doesn’t like the sight of needles, while she receives the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a FEMA vaccination center at Miami Dade College, Monday, April 5, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
But she said more than 1,000 people signed up for vaccines within the first six hours after the school announced the new requirement.
Northeastern University in Boston is going a step further and requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all students before the fall 2021 semester as part of its plan to return to full-time, in-person learning.
Nova Southeastern University announced last week it would require vaccinations by Aug. 1 – then backtracked after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a statewide ban on “vaccine passports,” citing concerns about individual liberty and patient privacy.
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“We will continue to follow all state and federal laws as they evolve,” Nova President George L. Hanbury II said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.