US colleges divided over requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students
By Collin Binkley article
Student pharmacist Wilbur Quimba dilutes vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada on December 16, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
BOSTON - U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19vaccine, including whether they should or legally can require it.
Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.
U.S. colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations
Some colleges are making them mandatory, others are leaving the decision to students, and still others believe they canât legally require the shots.
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Kent State University student Marz Anderson gets his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination Thursday from Kent State nurse Beth Krul in Kent, Ohio. U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the vaccine. [ PHIL LONG | AP ]
Updated 1 hour ago
BOSTON â U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should â or legally can â require it.
US colleges divided over requiring student COVID-19 vaccinations
By AP Staff article
Olivier Tchimou, a student pharmacist administers the vaccine to a student in Riggleman Hall. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department led a vaccination effort on the campus of the University of Charleston. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightR
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U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should or legally can require it.
Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.
U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should or legally can require it.
Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.
University of New Hampshire spokesperson Erika Mantz said Monday vaccinations among in the school community are encouraged but are not currently required. If permanent approval of the vaccines is granted by the FDA, the University System of New Hampshire, in consultation with its board of trustees and the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, will make a final decision about whether the vaccine would be required for students, she said in an email.