They can absolutely require it to live in the campus housing. That would be sufficient…if you don’t want the vaccine, you can come to in person classes (which are not a vector for transmission) but can’t live in the dorms. I think this is what they should do.
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Makes me wonder if students will push back on getting a vaccine. We’re kind of talking about it like a lot of students won’t want to get it. Isn’t it quite possible that, at a lot of schools, most students will show up vaccinated even if it’s not required?
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My daughter is a Freshman this year. She began Fall semester at UNC Wilmington. She moved in and was on campus for approximately 2 weeks. The campus decided to allow students to return home with a refund of room and board or the student could move into a single room. My daughter decided to move home. While finishing fall semester at home she decided that she would rather transfer to another UNC school closer to home. This spring she is now a transfer to UNC Charlotte. UNC Charlotte began the spring semester all online. Students are moving back to campus this weekend and “some” in person classes will begin on Monday. My daughter has decided to finish the semester at home and move to Charlotte in the fall with the hopes that Fall semester will be a lot different. She will also be moving to an off campus apartment. It has been nice having her home but I can tell she is ready to make her own way. As far as making decisions last year, we had already toured all of the colleges that she applied to. We were hoping for a better outcome, but I believe both UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte has done a great job with trying to keep some kids on campus and have some in person classes.
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The potential liability is too great to require an experimental vaccine, but it’s widely assumed the pfizer and moderna vaccines will drop the “experimental” tag this summer. After that the vaccines will be required to live on campus and take classes in person. They will just add COVID to the list of required vaccines.
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Pfizer has said they will file for full FDA approval in the first half of the year, but best case timing is it takes FDA 6 months to review, so approval sometime in second half of the year. Don’t know whether Moderna is on the same timeline or not.
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Some encouraging news.
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@homerdog – out of curiosity, what are schools saying about gap years next year basically due to covid?
i have an s20; he’ll most likely go back; and a D16 who’s looking at professional grad school. curious on and keeping fingers crossed for all those kids - especially Class of 21 kids.
They cannot require it while it’s approved for emergency use only. Once it has received full FDA approval, they can require it, but students can get an exemption through the ADA or on religious grounds.
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too soon to say. I did ask that question at a University of Richmond admitted student event and was told that the usual deadline for requesting a gap year is May 1 and that last year they extended it to June 1. Honestly, I thought June 1 was not late enough. Last year especially, things were so in flux in the summer and no one really knew what to expect by June 1. They don’t have any answers on that for this year but, since this fall might be seen as less questionable than last fall, I’m guessing they won’t extend their gap year deadline.
It’s a question we will be asking any school that D is interested in. I want her to have the option to change her mind if the school changes it’s fall plan later in the summer.
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Even for private colleges? Seems counter-intuitive that a private college can’t make being vaccinated a requirement for being on campus.
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Existing vaccine exemptions vary across states, at least for K-12 schools. Colleges may also differ.
https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/vaccinations.html
Until the vaccines receive full FDA approval there will be legal questions as to whether colleges, either private or public, can require EUA Covid vaccination as a condition of attendance.
I guess I still don’t understand. They wouldn’t be forcing anyone to get the vaccine. Kids don’t have to enroll at that school, or if they choose to enroll they don’t have to be on campus if the school offers a remote option.
I think if it’s a private school they can dictate whatever they want as long as it doesn’t run afoul of ADA, title IX, discrimination laws etc. So if they want to say that in order to be on campus you have to jump up and down 3x at noon on Thursdays, as long as there is an exemption for kids who can’t do it for medical or religious purposes, I would think they could make that a condition of being on campus.
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As long as the vaccine requirement is disclosed before the student accepts then that argument might hold some sway. What about ED kids? What if that’s the only school you applied and were accepted to? What if it’s the only one you can afford?
From what I’ve read the issue is the EUA designation. It’s never been litigated. Would the schools incur any liability if they require it and the student has an adverse reaction or dies? I don’t know. I’m confident all schools have their legal teams looking at this because there are federal laws that supersede state law, CDC guidance will be part of the equation and so forth.
Once the vaccine has full FDA approval it’s not an issue, that’s why all the currently required vaccines don’t cause much fuss.
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I hear you about the issue of whether kids that are already there have certain rights and can’t be told that you either have to take this experimental vaccine or else you can’t be on campus. But, FWIW, last year my kid’s sports team got cancelled and there was litigation and there were issues about whether the school could change course like that for existing students, especially for Juniors and Seniors who can’t transfer without losing credits. Let’s just say that the school wasn’t concerned at all about that argument. And if it wasn’t a winning argument in that situation, it really won’t win where a school is imposing a requirement for safety purposes during a pandemic.
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News from Williams, 7 positive tests, 1723 students are back on campus as of last week:
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The US military decided not to make the EUA vaccine mandatory for service members due to legal liability issues.
About one-third of soldiers have declined to get it.
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I am not sure that schools by the fall will be able to dictate the requirement of the vaccine, maybe in the future though, but there are too many variables. What about the kid that is about to be a Senior, needs in person labs, and is not comfortable taking what they call “an experimental vaccine” . Currently we dont require all medical personnel to get vaccinated. (or anyone for that matter) What I think schools could do, similar to what countries want to do is a sorta “Green passport”, where those vaccinated can attend certain social events, such as football games, etc.
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I’m still not understanding what percentage of people won’t take the vaccine and what their reasoning is. The President took it as did all of the ex-Presidents. Fauci took it. What are the medical reasons for not taking it other than being under 16?
Like many, I am over this. Vaccines are our only way out and if students, staff and faculty don’t choose to take the vaccine that’s up to them. Would colleges even be held liable if they “strongly suggest” vaccination, go back to school as normal and then some people get sick? If no one can mandate a vaccine, why are those who get it waiting around for those who won’t?
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