NSU to require vaccines for all
Nova Southeastern University will require all staff and students to be vaccinated against COVID19 when they return to in-person classes in the fall.
The move makes NSU, a private nonprofit university, the first school in the country to require both staff and students to be vaccinated, spokesman Joe Donzelli said. But it appears to conflict with an order from Gov. Ron DeSantis on
Friday that prohibits businesses from requiring that customers prove they have been vaccinated.
During a news conference Friday, Dr. Harry Moon, a physician who serves as executive vice president for NSU, declined to respond to DeSantis’ action other than to say he believes the university’s move is the best for students and employees.
“I think we’re looking at it from a personal institutional basis of what we feel is the best and safest path
forward,” he said. “We’re doing it based on the data we have and what we’re trying to achieve.”
An official from DeSantis office could not be reached Friday afternoon to respond to NSU’s decision.
Businesses that do not comply with the governor’s order will not be eligible for contracts or grants funded through state revenue, according to the order.
NSU’s fall semester begins Aug. 23, and students and staff must be fully vaccinated by Aug. 1, four months from now. The requirement applies to everyone 18 and older.
Administrators hope the requirement will become a national trend. Rutgers University in New Jersey announced last week that it would require students to get vaccinated, but the policy does not apply to employees.
Moon said he does expects NSU’s policy to face legal challenges, but that won’t affect the plans.
“I think in general in society, legal challenges are common, so I would not find it unusual that we’re challenged on this,” he said.
Laws are murky on whether employers can force staff to be vaccinated. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated that mandatory shots are not illegal but that employers must account for religious beliefs and physical disabilities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration allows employers to mandate an influenza vaccine.
Court cases have mostly upheld mandatory programs against civil liberties challenges, according to the Thomson Reuters news service.
Moon said the university will consider any exemptions allowed by the EEOC and other regulatory bodies.
NSU has 6,314 undergraduate students and 14,574 advanced degree students across its campuses, Donzelli said. In addition to the main campus in Davie, the university has campuses in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa and Puerto Rico, Donzelli said.
Reaction to the vaccine requirement was divided.
Dental student Taha Peerzada, 23, said the university is a good place for mandatory vaccines, given its focus on the health professions, including physician, nursing, dental, optometry and pharmacy programs.
“This will help us go back to normal operations and be safer,” Peerzada said. “It will give us a sense of peace to have everyone vaccinated. But I think there definitely will be some people who are opposed to it.”
He said he received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on campus last week.
Some opposition arose on social media, however.
“Shame on NSU for mandating its students and employees to get the vaccine!” a user named Miles tweeted. “Forcing staff to get an unlicensed vaccine? Direct violation of medical privacy laws, HIPPA. I smell a class action lawsuit.”
Many young people have dismissed the need to get vaccinated, saying they are not at grave risk. Data shows that young adults, ages 25 to 34, make up the largest percentage of COVID-19 cases in Florida, but they tend to become less ill than older people.
Jonathan Banks, an associate professor in the college of Psychology and Neuroscience, had the opposite reaction.
“Happy that @ NSUFlorida is leading the charge in requiring students, staff, and faculty to be vaccinated for the in person return in the fall. Also happy that NSU is a vaccination site for the NSU community,” he wrote.
About two weeks ago, the university opened a “workplace vaccination site” on campus in partnership with the Florida Department of Health in Broward County, Donzelli said. The site follows state guidelines for age eligibility. It will open to those 18 and older on Monday, as will other sites in the state.
The NSU site already is fully booked. It is giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a one-dose shot has a lot of appeal for college students who have said they would get the vaccine if it’s convenient. Other vaccines require two shots. NSU will offer some online classes in 2021 but won’t offer the BlendFlex model they offered this school year as the main platform, Donzelli said. Currently BlendFlex is in place and students can choose to attend class in-person or through the livestream.
Officials say the university still plans to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in regards to masks and social distancing. In common areas where staff and students may interact with the public, masks will be required. They will be optional in classes where everyone is vaccinated, Donzelli said.
The university’s student population has increased considerably over the past three years, when incoming class sizes were consistently larger than any other time in the university’s history, Donzelli said.
“We are hopeful this decision will have an impact on fall enrollment,” he said. “If this helps a student and their family make the decision to pick NSU because we will give you a shot and make sure classmates around you have their shot, then all the better.”