Northeastern mandates vax
Other local colleges consider requirement
Northeastern University students will need to get the coronavirus vaccine before returning to campus this fall, the school said Tuesday as it became the first Boston area college to announce a COVID-19 vax mandate.
Other Massachusetts colleges told the Herald they’re “considering” and “evaluating” a coronavirus vax requirement, as legal and public health experts said the vax’s status under the FDA’s emergency-use authorization “raises a new issue.”
“I am not aware of any legal precedent involving challenges to EUA-based vaccine mandates,” said Joanne Rosen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, adding, “Colleges’ authority to require vaccination under these circumstances is a novel legal issue.”
Both Northeastern and Brown
University on Tuesday announced a coronavirus vaccine requirement. Students will be expected to arrive on campus in September fully vaccinated, unless they have a medical or religious exemption.
“In order to get herd immunity, we need to get a maximum number of people possible vaccinated,” Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern, said in a statement.
Other Massachusetts colleges on Tuesday wouldn’t commit to a mandate.
Boston University: “We highly encourage our community to get vaccinated when they are eligible … but vaccinations are not mandatory at this time.”
Boston College: “We are considering the possibility but no decision has been made as of yet.”
MIT: “MIT does not currently require that any members of our community receive a Covid-19 vaccine — but the leaders of the Institute and MIT Medical are strongly encouraging vaccination.”
Tufts University: “We’re exploring policy options that include requiring students, faculty and staff who will be in-person during the fall semester to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We haven’t finalized our plans yet.”
UMass Boston: “We’re looking at the issue but have not made any decisions at this time.”
UMass Amherst: “We are still evaluating the matter at UMass Amherst and have not announced a decision.”
UMass Lowell: “UMass Lowell does not plan to require a COVID-19 vaccination for fall at this time, but we are strongly encouraging all of our students to get the vaccine as soon as possible once they are eligible.”
Suffolk University: “We are strongly encouraging students to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and we want to do all that we can to support students and employees in getting vaccinated. The current vaccines are FDA-approved for emergency use only. We are currently discussing the approach we will take after the emergencyuse designation is eliminated.”