UMass Amherst officials ‘expect’ vaccination
Stop short of mandate
The state’s flagship university said Wednesday it will “expect” students and other members of its campus community to be vaccinated against the coronavirus come fall as other colleges move to mandate the shots.
UMass Amherst’s Public Health Promotion Center urged all students and staff to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” in an announcement on the university’s website, calling it “a key component in our eventual return to normal campus life.”
For the fall semester, officials said “we expect that every member of our campus community, with only limited exceptions, to be vaccinated, greatly reducing the risk of infection for all.”
UMass Amherst officials appeared to stop short of a mandate, though, saying they would “await final federal and state legal guidance on actual vaccination requirements.”
Students, faculty and staff were encouraged to check the university’s own public vaccine clinic for appointments or to search through the state’s portal.
Across the state, Lasell University on Wednesday joined the growing list of higher education institutions requiring vaccines for students looking to study or live on campus this fall.
“Lasell University will require a COVID-19 vaccination for all students who take classes or reside on campus by the start of the fall semester,” Lasell President Michael Alexander wrote in a letter to students. “This policy includes residential and commuter students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”
The private university in Newton said it would decide whether to require employees to get vaccinated in coming weeks, and said it would evaluate and grant requests for “appropriate medical and religious exemptions.”
Lasell follows Boston University and Northeastern University in mandating students get vaccinated before returning to campus this fall. Students will also be required to provide proof of their inoculations.
Several other schools previously told the Herald they were considering the possibility as higher-education institutions push for a return to a somewhat more normal campus life after more than a year of largely remote learning.
All adults over the age of 16 become eligible to sign up for shots in Massachusetts beginning on Monday.