NYC’s prestigious Columbia University is the latest college to require a COVID-19 vaccine for this coming fall semester.
In a note to the Columbia University community on Monday, April 19, Senior Executive Vice President Gerry Rosberg said based on “strong recommendation” from public health colleagues, university leaders have chosen to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all students on campus this fall.
They said they will allow for religious and medical exemptions, in compliance with state health laws.
“We regard this decision as essential to ensuring the health of Columbia students and the broader University and surrounding community, and also to containing the spread of the virus in New York City, one of the most severely affected locations in the country throughout this past 13 months,” the letter read.
Every year, in order to utilize the campus, students must sign a “Columbia Community Health Compact” that ensures their compliance with certain health and safety regulations. The vaccinate mandate will be added to that compact. The campus will still enforce other safety protocols, like face masks and social distancing, which they say has proven to work seeing as their COVID-19 test positivity rate has been a mere 0.39% since June 2020.
They say they will provide on-campus vaccination opportunities for students when they return to campus if needed — as Columbia is already running several vaccine sites throughout the city in partnership with NewYork Presbyterian — though they encourage people not to wait until then and to get vaccinated in their own communities if it is possible.
“Despite tremendous hardship, Columbia has maintained its academic, research and clinical vitality throughout the current academic year,” the letter continued.
“The vaccine will push us that much closer to the normal campus life we are so eager to restore. We remain, however, in an uncertain state. Rates of infection and hospitalization in New York, in particular, remain high. The state has made great progress in administering over 11 million doses but many more people need to be vaccinated in order to see the anticipated protective effects. We all hope for, and are striving to ensure, a far brighter picture once the fall term starts in September.”
More details about vaccine deadlines, how to share proof of vaccination, and applying for exceptions will be shared soon on their COVID-19 website here.
The news comes after another New York higher education institution, Cornell University, made a similar announcement at the beginning of this month.
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