Question-of-the-Day-3.26
Should All Colleges Require Students And Staff To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19?
Piscataway, NJ (77WABC) – A stunning requirement being made by Rutgers University — as the school announced it will require all students to be vaccinated before arriving on campus for the 2021 fall semester.
The University’s announcement comes as school officials say they have assessed the requirements with public health experts — along with the federal government assuring vaccinations will be available for Americans by the end of May — helped lead to their final decision of adjusting the vaccine requirements.
“We are committed to health and safety for all members of our community, and adding COVID-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students,” said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway.
Students enrolling at Rutgers who are under age 18 will be advised to receive the Pfizer vaccine, the only one of three vaccines currently approved in the United States that may be administered to 16- and 17-year-olds. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 years and older.
Rutgers University says students may request an exemption from vaccinations for medical or religious reasons. Students enrolled in fully remote online degree programs and individuals participating in online-only continuing education programs will not be required to be vaccinated.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have said that the safety of the Rutgers community is a shared responsibility,” said Antonio Calcado, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Rutgers. “An effective vaccination program is a continuation of Rutgers’ commitment to health and safety for all members of our community of more than 71,000 students, the cities we are in and the communities we serve throughout New Jersey.”
As vaccine supplies are made available to the wider population, faculty and staff are strongly urged to receive the vaccine, Calcado said.
News of the requirement for students to take the vaccine garnered criticism towards the university on social media. It also sparked questions as to whether other universities would follow suit and whether such a mandate is even legal.
In a message to the Rutgers community, President Jonathan Holloway, Calcado, and Prabhas Moghe, executive vice president for academic affairs, noted widespread vaccination will accelerate the return to a pre-pandemic normal on the university’s campuses, including increased in-person course offerings, more on-campus events and activities and more collaboration in instructional and research projects.
Rutgers has received approval from the State of New Jersey to administer vaccines on campus to faculty, staff and students once vaccine supplies are available to the university.
The University says more information will be forthcoming on vaccination clinic sites. However, Rutgers says its encouraging faculty, staff and students to not wait to sign up for vaccines at a Rutgers site.
