The Ohio State University (OSU) is mandating that students, faculty, and staff get vaccinated against the coronavirus following FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine. The university also warned that boosters may be mandated in the future. Those that do not comply will be subject to “progressive disciplinary action.”
“With Monday’s news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Ohio State will now require every student, faculty and staff member to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” OSU President Kristina Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.
All OSU students, faculty, and staff are required to get their first jab by October 15. For people choosing a vaccine that requires two doses in order to be considered “fully vaccinated,” the second dose must be taken by November 15.
“Please note that boosters may be required in the future,” Johnson noted in her announcement regarding the vaccine mandate, adding that masks will also be required on campus, “regardless of vaccination status.”
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, syringes containing the COVID-19 vaccine are displayed in Pompano Beach, Fla. The nation’s biggest immunization rollout in history is facing pushback from an unlikely source: health care workers who witnessed COVID-19′s devastation firsthand but are refusing shots in surprising numbers. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
As for those who do not comply with the university’s vaccine mandate, they may be “subject to progressive disciplinary action,” the OSU website states.
Existing students who are not fully vaccinated by the spring 2022 semester will not be allowed “to participate in on-campus experiences, including in-person classes or living in the residence halls.”
New OSU students “will be subject to the same vaccination requirements to participate in in-person classes, live in university residence halls or otherwise take part in on-campus experiences.”
Faculty and staff who do not get vaccinated after “being reminded” to comply will no longer be able to log into their computers or have email access. They will also be subject to “further progressive discipline.”
Last month, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed legislation that prevents public schools and colleges in the state from requiring people to get a vaccine that has not been fully approved by the FDA.
Now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus — right at the start of the fall 2021 semester — OSU appears to have wasted no time in mandating the jab.
OSU is the only university threatening to punish its students who do not comply with its vaccine requirement.
Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, says it will fine and cut the internet access of non-exempt students who fail to show proof that they have been vaccinated against the virus. Unvaccinated students will be fined $100 a week, with the fine will escalating to $200 a week, or $2,275 for a full semester.
The University of Michigan has punished hundreds of students for missing mandatory coronavirus tests by deactivating their access cards to nonresidential buildings. Cornell University has also announced that students would lose access to campus Wi-Fi, course materials, and facilities for missing virus tests.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.