Students must get shots. Why not staff?

Students must get COVID-19 shots to step onto campuses at UConn, Central, Southern and all the other state universities and community colleges. Their professors, however, don’t have to. Why not? Unions. “In order to require unionized employees to be vaccinated, we must receive consent from each of the employee bargaining units,” said Ernestine Weaver, legal counsel for the state Board of Regents. “Gaining these consents is a large undertaking.”

That was on June 24. School starts in two weeks. There is still no consent from all the bargaining units.

This is maddening. There is a pandemic raging. Hey, units, can you please step it up?

A recent survey showed 94 percent of UConn faculty union members supporting mandatory vaccinations. So, what’s the holdup?

Michael Bailey, executive director of UConn’s American Association of University Professors, says the union is working through the policy details.

“There have been many student exemptions that have been granted by the administration. This has caused some concern from the faculty,” he said.

That’s true. As of late July, 504 students had gotten exemptions for nonmedical reasons. Another 50-plus had gotten medical exemptions.

Those unvaccinated students, however, are a strong argument for getting all staff vaccinated quickly instead of dillydallying on mandatory vaccinations.

Other schools require professors to vaccinate. Sacred Heart University, for example, is mandating shots for all on-campus staff. Hats off to you, Sacred Heart.

The U.S. Veterans Administration also requires COVID vaccines for its personnel “to keep the veterans it serves safe.”

The U.S. military joined the movement this week, requiring troops to be vaccinated by Sept. 15.

Students who are fighting UConn’s vaccination requirement in court are using the faculty exclusion to make their case. Why make us do what professors don’t have to do? they ask in effect.

UConn’s lawyers don’t have a great answer to that. Their grammatically confusing response is: “Even if the plaintiffs believe that the faculty should have been included [in the vaccination policy], the fact that they were not is not sufficient to render the policy unreasonable.”

The mandatory vaccination policy for students coming onto campus is reasonable. The foot-dragging by staff unions is not. Their delay only gives ammunition to students trying to skirt this life-saving policy.

The mandatory vaccination policy for students coming onto campus is reasonable. The foot-dragging by staff unions is not.