Rutgers Will Require COVID-19 Vaccines For All Students

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — In a dramatic announcement Thursday — and course reversal from what the school said in January of this year — Rutgers announced that it will require all students who wish to return to campus prove they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The school said it was following guidance from public health experts and also assurances from the Biden administration that more vaccine will be made available.

"Assurances from the federal government that vaccines will be available for all Americans by the end of May and assessments by public health experts prompted university leaders to adjust the vaccine requirements for the fall semester," read a press release from the school.

Rutgers appears to be the first college or university in the nation to make such a requirement of its students.

Proof of a COVID vaccine will be required for all students who wish to take in-person classes, even if they live off-campus. Students may request an exemption for medical or religious reasons.

Rutgers announced earlier this year it intends to fully reopen dorms and classes in September 2021, although students who wish to take online classes only next year can still do so.

“We are committed to health and safety for all members of our community, and adding COVID-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students,” said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway in Thursday's announcement.

More than 71,000 students are enrolled at Rutgers University. Rutgers will only be requiring its students to get vaccinated, not faculty. Instead, the school said it is only "strongly urging" faculty and staff to get the vaccine. The president of the Rutgers faculty union said Rutgers never approached the union about requiring its members get the vaccine, but he would welcome such a talk. Read: Head Of Rutgers Faculty Union Would 'Welcome' Vaccine Discussion

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those in their 20s can indeed get coronavirus but the rates of hospitalization and deaths are much higher among older adults (45 times higher in 30-to-39-year-olds and exponentially higher in those 85 and older).

A Rutgers spokeswoman said she would "get back" to Patch when asked why faculty and staff — who are presumably older than college students — are not required to get the vaccine.

Thursday's announcement goes directly against statements a Rutgers senior vice chancellor made in this Jan. 8 video discussion, "Our Path Forward," where he said Rutgers will not be requiring its students or professors to get the coronavirus vaccine to return to on-campus life.

"It is America and Rutgers is part of America," said Rutgers vice-chancellor Dr. Vicente Gracias on Jan. 8. "The vaccine at this point is not mandatory across the United States or here in New Jersey. And certainly at Rutgers, with our stance on human liberties and history of protecting that, the vaccine is not mandatory."

Instead, he said at the time that he hoped the Rutgers community chooses to vaccinate itself. Dr. Gracias is a surgeon, teaches at Rutgers' medical school and is vice president for health affairs at the school.

Prior reporting: Rutgers Will Not Require COVID Vaccination Of Students, Staff (Jan. 25)

Rutgers is telling its students under 18 to receive the Pfizer vaccine, the only one of three vaccines currently approved in the United States that may be administered to 16- and 17-year-olds.

Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for those 18 years and older.

Students may request an exemption from the vaccine for medical or religious reasons.

The list of vaccines that Rutgers currently requires of its students can be found here.

Rutgers does not require all students get a flu shot; only clinical researchers who "participate in clinical activities and/or at risk of exposure to blood or potentially infectious body fluids" must get it, said the school.

Rutgers does require all its students have all typical childhood vaccinations, such as MMR, TB and hepatitis B. Rutgers also requires the meningitis vaccine for all students younger than 19, regardless whether they live on or off campus, and it is required for first-year college students living on campus. After that, students are not required to get it.

Rutgers also plans to open up on-campus vaccination sites, once more vaccine is available.

However, the school is urging faculty, staff and students to not wait to sign up for vaccines at a Rutgers site and to instead sign up through the state or at private sites as soon as possible.

You can learn more directly from Rutgers here: https://www.rutgers.edu/news/r...

https://www.rutgers.edu/presid...

https://coronavirus.rutgers.ed...

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