Coronavirus vaccine mandates: Northeastern University is requiring faculty and staff to get shots
Northeastern University is joining the growing list of area schools that will require faculty and staff members to get the coronavirus vaccine before returning to campus this fall.
Northeastern on Monday announced that it’s requiring all university employees to get vaccinated by Sept. 8.
The university in the spring was one of the first schools in the country to issue a student vax mandate for the coming fall.
Northeastern has been encouraging all faculty and staff to get vaccinated, and put out a vax status survey that had an 80% response rate. Of those who responded, 97% of faculty and staff reported that they are fully vaccinated or will be by September.
“While this level of reported vaccine adherence is strong, we are still left with a significant number of individuals whose status is unknown,” Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior VP for Learning, wrote in a letter to faculty and staff on Monday.
“This concern is compounded by the emergence of the Delta variant and the recent rise in COVID cases, prompting the university to consider additional ways to support the health and wellness of all members of the university community,” Henderson added.
As a result, the university is mandating the vax for all U.S.-based Northeastern faculty and staff.
“We want to underscore that completing the vaccination verification process is required and the university will take all steps necessary to ensure full compliance with this policy,” Henderson wrote.
Other area schools that have a vax mandate for students, faculty and staff this fall includes Boston University and Boston College.
At Boston University, if faculty and staff members don’t get the jab, they could be placed on leave.
UMass Amherst students are required to be fully vaxxed by this fall, according to University Health Services. There is no mandate for faculty and staff there.
“The university believes the great majority of our faculty and staff want to and will be vaccinated, as reflected in Massachusetts’ high vaccination rate,” reads a campus update last week. “All faculty and staff are strongly recommended to get vaccinated, and the university continues to operate a walk-in vaccine clinic.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3xlahuv
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