Bates to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all students
The college said Tuesday it won t allow students to return in the fall unless they are vaccinated.
Steve Collins/Sun Journal
LEWISTON – Bates College will mandate that all of its students be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to campus for the fall semester.
“The very nature of our residential community makes this requirement necessary to protect the health of students and the broader Bates and local communities,” Vice President for Campus Life Joshua McIntosh told students Tuesday.
In addition, he said, “having a fully vaccinated student body puts us in a better position to return to the many activities and experiences that existed on our campus before the pandemic, but were not possible this academic year.”
There are currently 129 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maine, including 49 in critical care.
The state continues to vaccinate its population more quickly than most others and has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated. However, demand is weakening and the pace of immunizations is slowing.
In an effort to make getting a shot more convenient, many clinics are offering vaccinations to walk-ins and extending hours into the evening and weekends.
A Sanford clinic, which is operated by MaineHealth at the former Marshalls, has begun accepting walk-ins and started offering evening hours on Thursday. Walk-in vaccinations were being offered from 5-8 p.m. Thursday and will be available during the same hours on May 11, May 13, May 18, May 20, May 25 and May 27.
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The University of New England will require students returning to their campuses for the fall 2021 semester to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the semester starts.
The school will allow religious and medical exemptions, but according to the Portland Press Herald, those individuals will be required to wear masks while on campus.
Colleges and universities are starting to require vaccination for in-person instruction, such as Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
UNE, which has campuses in Biddeford and Portland, said the decision was made “after careful consideration and consultation with university’s medical and public health experts.”