U of M to mandate vaccines for students
UMN President Joan Gabel announced in an email that once COVID-19 vaccines are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, they will be mandated for students.
Specifics about the “graceful pivot” in the U’s vax plan are still being worked out, and the mask mandate will continue. There will be a virtual town hall with University leaders at 9am on Wednesday, August 18.
From the email:
“Upon formal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of any COVID-19 vaccine (anticipated in the coming weeks), the University will add the COVID-19 vaccine to those immunizations already required for students, with appropriate exemptions. With the comfort associated with FDA approval, we will join a growing list of public colleges and universities across the country that are taking a similar approach, including, but not limited to, Michigan State University, Purdue University, the University of Florida, and many of the nation’s leading private colleges, including many in Minnesota.”
Faculty and staff will have to attest online that they are vaccinated and will get tested if they are exposed to COVID-19. If they’re not vaccinated, they should be tested regularly at a frequency to be determined.
Do you have questions or thoughts about COVID-19 or any of the vaccines or university mandates? What do you think?
What we’re reading:
Featured on Workday Minnesota: August 3 was Black Women Equal Pay Day! Kayla Grant (@TheKaylaGrant) reports for Prism on how Black women, regardless of where they work, are underpaid.
“The Murder of the U.S. Middle Class Began 40 Years Ago This Week”: On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired thousands of striking air traffic controllers. Jon Schwarz (@Schwarz) contextualizes this turning point in labor history and political culture for The Intercept.
The spirit of community. We are each other’s harvest.