Worcester State To Require COVID-19 Vaccines For Students

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester State University students will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to in-person classes in the fall, the Council of Presidents of the Massachusetts State Universities has decided.

The decision comes as other private and public schools have put vaccine mandates in place, and after vaccine eligibility opened to almost every state resident last week.

"Student safety and the safety of our communities remains at the forefront of our planning as we prepare to return to in-person learning and campus life in the fall," Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President James Birge said in a statement on behalf of the Massachusetts State University Council of Presidents.

The requirement will apply to any student attending in-person classes, living in dorms, conducting research and participating in campus activities. The requirement covers Framingham, Worcester, Salem, Bridgewater, Fitchburg and Salem State universities, plus the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Also beginning this fall, each of the nine schools will offer a traditional slate of classes and activities. The state schools had been limiting in-person classes and on-campus living this school year due to the pandemic.

Boston College and UMass Amherst in recent days announced a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for students in the fall. Northeastern University, Boston University and Emerson College had announced similar plans earlier this month.

Massachusetts on April 19 opened coronavirus vaccine eligibility to anyone over age 16. About 2.3 million people in the state were fully vaccinated as of Sunday, according to state data.