The University of Virginia (UVA) is ordering its students to get vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus to return to in-person classes on campus for the fall semester.
“All students who live, learn, or work in person at the University during the next academic year must be fully vaccinated before returning to Grounds, starting July 1,” university President Jim Ryan said in an announcement posted to the school’s website.
The university president added that students “must provide proof of vaccination” no later than July 1, if they want to return to in-person classes on campus in the fall.
“Students who are not vaccinated and do not qualify for an exception will not be permitted to come to Grounds after July 1,” the school warned.
The university went on to say that “students may seek a medical or religious exemption to the vaccination requirement,” but said that if such exemption is granted, students will be subjected to weekly coronavirus testing, “and likely other public health measures.”
As for university employees, Ryan said the university expects faculty and staff “who do not have a need for medical or religious exemption to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
“Vaccination of our employees is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and the return to regular, in-person experiences,” the university added. “Any UVA employee who is not vaccinated will be subject to mandatory prevalence testing, which will begin this summer.”
Ryan added that university administrators “will monitor employee vaccination rates and, in consultation with public health experts, consider whether to require vaccines for all employees.”
The University of Virginia is not the only institution of higher learning mandating that its students get the coronavirus vaccine before returning to in-person classes.
In March, Rutgers University became the first major U.S. college to mandate the vaccine for students when it announced that students would have to get the jab if they wanted to cease virtual learning and return to campus in the fall.
After that, Columbia University announced that students are required to get vaccinated in order to return to in-person classes in the fall.
Similarly, The University of Michigan-Dearborn is mandating its students either get vaccinated for the coronavirus or undergo weekly tests to return to in-person classes for the fall semester.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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