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Dive Brief:
- A leading higher education health association recommended Thursday that colleges, where state law and resources allow, require the coronavirus vaccine this fall for students who participate in on-campus activities.
- The American College Health Association said institutions should encourage students to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If students start but can’t complete a two-dose vaccine on campus, then colleges should inform them of ways to get their second shot.
- A rapidly growing contingent of colleges have already announced vaccine mandates, and more are expected to follow.
Dive Insight:
ACHA notes that vaccination requirements for students who enter college “are not new and are time-tested.” One survey the group conducted found nearly 70% of some 200 institutions required students to be vaccinated against the measles in a recent academic year.
The organization acknowledged that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved the three coronavirus vaccines being administered in the U.S. under its Emergency Use Authorization. This allows the agency to more quickly roll out the vaccine during the pandemic. However, legal experts have said colleges are on solid legal footing to require vaccines approved under a EUA, even though they may be wary of doing so.
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