All undergraduate and graduate students will be required to get COVID-19 vaccinations before they arrive on campus for the upcoming academic year. On April 23, the University announced that it will require all students who will set foot on campus “to have received an approved vaccine by August 1, 2021.”
“The decision was made in consultation with CURT, University health professionals, student leaders, and University leadership, and was determined to be the most effective approach to limiting or eliminating the spread of COVID-19 at the University, and the safest and most manageable way to increase in-person operations, instruction, activities, and student living on the University’s campuses,” the announcement said.
If students are unable to be vaccinated before arriving for the upcoming academic year, the University will arrange for it to be provided. Currently, in New York State, University students ages 16 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for free.
The announcement mentioned that students who are not fully vaccinated by Aug. 1 will be permitted to be on campus only if they are in “the process of becoming fully vaccinated,” have received approval from UHS for “medical or religious exemption from being vaccinated,” or if “they abide by measures intended to limit the spread of the virus by unvaccinated students, which may include some combination of masking, social distancing, testing, or other measures, as determined by state or federal guidance or the University, and which may change over time.”
Although the University has not announced any vaccination requirements for faculty and staff for the upcoming academic year, the announcement briefly mentioned future plans in the works.
“University leaders are now carefully looking at the best ways to achieve the greatest vaccination rates among faculty and staff who teach and work on the University’s campuses,” said the announcement. More guidance will be provided in the coming weeks.
