Emory, AUC Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine For Fall Campus Return

ATLANTA — Private universities in Atlanta are mandating COVID-19 protocols for students to return to campus in the fall.

Emory University and the Atlanta University Center Consortium — which includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College and the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library — announced the requirement Monday for students coming to the various schools for the 2021 fall semester.

Emory President Gregory Fenvez considered the university’s vaccination policies before reaching his decision, he said in a letter released Monday.

“After analyzing the results of this review and considering a range of factors affecting the wellbeing of the Emory community, I am announcing today that Emory University will require all students to be immunized for COVID-19 for the fall 2021 semester,” Fenvez said. “Student vaccinations will create a healthier environment in our classrooms, which will be at full density during the fall.”

When school started in January, Emory students returning to campus were required to complete a comprehensive Student Onboarding process which included a “move-in screening” for students living on-campus as well as twice-weekly COVID-19 screening after moving into campus residence halls. This, of course, was before the broad availability of the vaccine.

At the AUC, all students, faculty and staff of the four institutions and the university library are required to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus “by the beginning of the 2021 fall semester” in order to return to campus.

“We continue to operate with the safety and well-being of our AUCC community at the forefront of our decision making,” a statement from the AUC Consortium said, noting a decision to follow guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The AUCC member institutions align with this science-based guidance in putting forth this notice.”

The AUC statement clarified that “fully vaccinated” meant two or more weeks have passed since receipt of either one shot of a single-dose vaccine or the second dose of a two-dose series.

Emory will allow students to apply for an exemption from the vaccine requirement “based on medical conditions or strong personal objections,” Fenvez said. Also, the university is not requiring staff and faculty to be vaccinated, “but I strongly recommend” it, he said.

The AUC institutions and Emory will offer opportunities for students, staff and faculty to receive vaccinations on the respective campuses. Each of the AUC campuses and the AUCC Student Health and Wellness Center will provide further information. At Emory, officials point to its “Emory Forward” vaccine webpage for vaccine scheduling information.