Lehigh University To Require COVID Vaccinations In Fall

BETHLEHEM, PA — Lehigh University in Bethlehem has become the latest school to announce it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students who plan to attend classes in the fall.

In a message to the university community on Wednesday, Lehigh officials said all undergraduate and graduate students who participate in on-campus programs will be required to have a vaccination.

The requirement will be similar to existing immunization requirements and begin with students living on campus this summer. Vaccines won't be required of students who study fully online or otherwise never meet on campus.

Students also may request medical or religious exemptions, as is the case with other immunization requirments, the message said.

"Across the world and on our campus, COVID-19 vaccination is important for allowing a return to normal life," read the message, signed by Provost Nathan Urban and others. "At this time, all people in the U.S. aged 16 and above are eligible to be vaccinated. Safe and effective vaccines are currently widely available in the U.S.

"Not only do vaccinations prevent serious illness and death, but increasing evidence indicates that vaccination significantly reduces the likelihood that a person can be an asymptomatic carrier of COVID."

Lehigh had previously announced plans to hold in-person classes for undergraduates in the fall, with the exception of a small number of cases in which students can't be on campus due to visa issues or medical concerns. Residence halls and Greek houses will be at normal capacity, with separate housing maintained for students who get the coronavirus and need to be isolated.

Lehigh students should be vaccinated, or request an exemption, prior to arriving on campus in the fall. Students who arrive without being vaccinated will be referred to the school's Health and Wellness Center, which will connect then with resources to get vaccinated.

Established in 1865, Lehigh University is a private research university which has more than 5,000 undergraduate students and another 1,800 or so graduate students.