Ohio U mandates COVID-19 vaccination
Ohio University announced Tuesday that all Ohio U students, faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 15.
The mandate includes individuals on the Ohio U main campus and regional campuses and only excludes students enrolled in fully online programs that do not require in-person participation.
Ohio U students, faculty and staff can apply for a vaccination exemption “for medical reasons or for reasons of conscience, including ethical and moral belief or sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to the university’s announcement.
The mandate is required for students to participate in on campus activities for the 2022 Spring semester.
“Our commitment is to provide our students with the most normal college experience possible, but the reality is that as a nation, we are not as far as we hoped we would be in battling the pandemic,” Ohio U President Hugh Sherman said in the email announcement. “Public health experts are tracking an increase in cases in Ohio and on our campuses due to the extremely contagious Delta variant, and we need to do everything we can to continue to show our care and respect for one another and do our part to help keep the entire community safe and healthy.”
Athens County is currently experiencing a very high risk of spread, with an average of 39 cases per day, according to the New York Times. Due to the high risk of spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended even vaccinated people in the county wear masks. The NYT reports this is a 440% increase from the average two weeks ago, before the return of students to the Ohio U Athens campus.
Ohio U accepts Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization emergency use listing under its new policy.
The COVID-19 vaccine is free. Ohio U has vaccine clinics available on the Athens and regional campuses. Students can also use the Ohio Department of Health website to schedule a vaccine appointment.
Ohio U students, faculty and staff must upload proof of vaccination to the COVID-19 testing pathway site.
The announcement follows other Ohio colleges mandating COVID-19 vaccinations, including Ohio State University and Miami University.
UCM Senior Director Carly Leatherwood said there was not any specific coordination between Ohio U and other schools that have recently announced vaccine mandates. Ohio U discussed the matter with the Inter-University Council, which is made up of all public universities in Ohio.
“While we didn’t plan our plans with them per se, we all discussed what we were doing together, which happens when we’re all making decisions,” Leatherwood said. “Especially as we’ve made decisions throughout the pandemic there is a lot of discussion in that group.”
The Lantern reported Wednesday that OSU President Kristina M. Johnson announced all Ohio State students will be required to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15 and a second dose by Nov. 15. This was following the Food and Drug Administration full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 23.
The Miami Student also reported Monday afternoon that Miami U will mandate vaccination against the coronavirus for all students by Nov. 22 and their first dose by Oct. 25.
“The vaccination is our best protection against COVID-19 and will ultimately help end the pandemic,” Sherman said in the announcement. “If and when boosters are recommended, the University will update this policy to reflect those recommendations.”
Emily Crebs, Zach Zimmerman, Maddie Harden and Audri Wilde contributed to this report.
