Ohio State Mandates Covid Vaccine for Students and Employees

U.S.|Ohio State announces a vaccine mandate for students and employees.

• Aug. 24, 2021, 7:03 p.m. ET

Ohio State University announced connected Tuesday that each students, module and unit would beryllium required to beryllium vaccinated against Covid-19 during the autumn semester, becoming 1 of the archetypal ample authorities universities to contented a vaccine mandate that extends beyond students.

“The assemblage is taking this measurement due to the fact that vaccines are the safest and astir effectual signifier of extortion against Covid-19,” Kristina M. Johnson, the president of the university, said successful a connection connected Tuesday. “This measurement volition summation our quality to enactment our students successful continuing their acquisition experiences arsenic good arsenic assistance support our existent and the state’s aboriginal enactment force.”

The determination from the university, which has much than 66,000 students and 30,000 employees, comes aft the Food and Drug Administration granted full support for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for those 16 and older. That’s fixed schools and companies country to denote akin mandates.

Louisiana State University said connected Tuesday that each its students would person to either taxable impervious of vaccination oregon “be tested for Covid connected a regular basis.” The University of Minnesota besides issued a mandate for students to beryllium vaccinated pursuing the F.D.A.’s approval. And successful New York, each in-person students successful the authorities and metropolis assemblage systems are required to beryllium vaccinated.

Staff, module and students astatine Ohio State University person until Oct. 15 to person their archetypal dose and until Nov. 15 for their second, Ms. Johnson said. More than 73 percent of the university’s assemblage has received astatine slightest 1 shot, she added.

“A constricted acceptable of exemptions volition beryllium approved connected a case-by-case basis,” Ms. Johnson said, adding that the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, arsenic good arsenic others approved by the World Health Organization, would besides conscionable the university’s vaccine requirement.

WBNS 10 reported that hundreds of radical went to the Ohio Statehouse connected Tuesday to dependable enactment for a Republican-backed measure that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to beryllium vaccinated.