CMU TAKES ITS SHOT

Officials say mandate will protect community

Carnegie Mellon University will require vaccines for faculty, staff.

Carnegie Mellon University announced Friday that it’s now requiring all faculty and staff be vaccinated fully against COVID19 as the delta variant of the virus continues to surge.

The mandate applies to CMU’s Pittsburgh campus as well as its satellite locations in California, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C., school officials said.

With classes starting less than two weeks away, university officials said the decision was made to protect the health and well-being of those who will be on campus and in the community.

“With the support of our Board of Trustees, the university’s academic and administrative leadership team has decided to take this step in order to protect the health of our campus and neighboring communities and to preserve the privilege of in-person activities,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. “We are specifically keeping in mind the protection of the thousands of CMU students arriving to campus shortly, as well as those in our community

who are immunocomprised or who have young children who are not yet eligible for the vaccine.”

About 75% of CMU faculty and staff have voluntarily uploaded their documentation into CMU’s COVID-19 Vaccine Database, school officials said, and 85% of students have done the same. The student requirement was announced on May 11.

Free vaccine clinics are being offered on campus this month and in September, officials said. A Pittsburgh campus face mask requirement, regardless of vaccination, was reinstated on Sunday.

The University of Pittsburgh, a state- related public university, said it won’t require students to get shots that protect against COVID- 19. Instead, the school will strongly encourage the Pitt community to get vaccinated as soon as possible.