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Yale Is The Latest University To Require Students To Get A Coronavirus Vaccine

This article is more than 2 years old.
Updated Apr 19, 2021, 04:11pm EDT

Topline

Yale University has joined a growing list of colleges that will require members of the university community to receive a coronavirus vaccine before stepping on campus this fall.

Key Facts

Students at Yale University will be required to get a vaccine before they step foot on the New Haven campus next semester, university officials announced in an email Monday.

George Washington University said Monday all students, faculty and staff planning to return to campus must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the fall semester.

The announcement followed Georgetown University and American University, two other Washington, D.C. schools that last week said they would require students to be immunized against coronavirus to return to campus.

Duke University said April 9 it will require students to present proof of vaccination before they can enroll for the fall 2021 semester, saying “we know that widespread vaccination will be the only way to facilitate a return to normal and robust campus life.”

Boston University also said April 9 coronavirus vaccines will be mandatory for students enrolling in on-campus instruction next semester, and is encouraging the BU community to receive a vaccine as soon as they are able.

On April 8, Syracuse University said it will require vaccines for students, faculty and staff beginning June 1, but will allow for medical and religious exemptions.

On Wednesday, University of Notre Dame said all students will be required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of enrolling at the university next year, and will open an on-campus vaccination site Thursday.

Ithaca College in New York state announced April 7 it will require the vaccine for fall semester so that the college can "resemble a pre-pandemic ‘normal.’"

Boston’s Northeastern University said April 6 students attending in-person classes on campus in the fall will be required to be fully vaccinated by the first day of the term.

Brown University said April 6 it will “require COVID-19 vaccines for all undergraduate, graduate and medical students who will be on campus or engage in any level of in-person instruction” beginning in the fall semester 2021.

On April 2, New York’s Cornell University announced it “intends to require” immunization for all students attending in-person classes in the fall, and asked the university community to register their vaccination status so the administration can determine immunization  rates to base reopening plans on.

Fort Lewis College in Colorado said April 2 all students enrolled next semester will be required to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

Florida’s Nova Southeastern University will require all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by August 1 in order to resume in-person classes on campus next school year, the university announced Friday. 

On April 1, Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, announced it will require students receive the vaccine before they return to campus in the fall, and is encouraging faculty and staff to do the same.

Texas’ St. Edward’s University said March 29 it would require students and faculty over the age of 16 to receive a vaccine before September.

Last month, Rutgers University in New Jersey was the first large U.S. college to announce it would require all on-campus students to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus before fall semester classes begin.

What To Watch For

More universities may opt to require vaccines for students, but there could be pushback from critics. The idea of “vaccine passports” that document the holder has been vaccinated have proved controversial with Republicans who say they are an invasion of privacy. On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order to ban vaccine passports from being used in the state by government entities or organizations that receive public funds. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a similar order Friday to ban them in his state, even by private businesses. It’s still unclear how these executive orders will affect universities wishing to mandate vaccines.

Key Background

Most universities said they will allow some vaccine exemptions based on sincerely held religious views and medical conditions. The vast majority of American colleges and universities shut down campuses in March after the coronavirus pandemic picked up speed. When students returned to their campuses the following fall, large coronavirus outbreaks were reported in college towns across the country. College students living in close quarters, like in university accommodation and fraternity and sorority houses, were particularly vulnerable to infection.

Further Reading

Rutgers Becomes First Major University To Require Covid-19 Vaccination (Forbes)

19 Of The 25 Worst U.S. Coronavirus Outbreaks Are In College Towns (Forbes)

Outbreaks Hit Fraternities, Sororities And Dorms As College Parties Resume (Forbes)

How America’s Richest Colleges Are Getting Away With Charging More While Providing Less During Covid (Forbes)