2% of UConn students request exemption from vaccine requirement

STORRS — A small group of roughly 2 percent of University of Connecticut students has requested non-medical exemptions from the school’s vaccine requirement.

Connecticut Public Media reported this week that more than 800 UConn students have asked for exemptions to the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate this fall.

The school enrolled almost 33,000 students last year, including about 19,000 undergraduates, on its main campus in Storrs.

The deadline to request an exemption was officially July 15.

At least 771 of those requests were for non-medical reasons, such as religious or philosophical beliefs, or hesitancy about the vaccine. As of late July, 504 of those appeals have been granted, and Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokesperson, confirmed that as of Friday, none had been denied.

More than 50 medical exemption requests, with signed statements from physicians, were received and approved by the university’s Student Health and Wellness department.

The requests for exemptions were made public in court documents after a group of students and parents sued the university’s board of trustees last month in U.S. District Court. UConn has asked to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying those students have received waivers or did not apply for them.

A large majority of UConn students have already been vaccinated. As of Wednesday, 92 percent of Storrs residential students reported they were partially or fully vaccinated, according to university vaccine data.

“Although the university hadn’t set a specific minimum, having a vaccination rate higher than 90 percent gives us confidence in a healthy opening,” said Reitz. “Students indicated last spring in strong numbers that they intended to get the vaccine when it became available to them, so while we aren’t surprised by the high figures, we’re pleased and grateful.”

The COVID-19 dashboard is updated weekly and, starting Aug. 11, will include off-campus and regional campus students.

Reitz said UConn received additional confirmations of vaccination statuses in the past week, so the university’s next update will see that number rise, though she did not know by how much.