Largest colleges push student vaccines with mandates, prizes
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — As a new semester begins amid a resurgence of the coronavirus, 26 of the 50 largest public university campuses in the U.S. are not mandating that students be vaccinated, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
Approaches on enforcement vary widely even among universities that do have vaccine mandates, with some offering leniency for students who opt out and others expelling those who do not comply.
Administrators are emphasizing high numbers for student vaccinations as key to bringing some normalcy back to campus and keeping instruction in classrooms rather than online. Where mandates face political opposition, schools are relying on incentives and outreach to get more students vaccinated.
The universities without vaccine mandates include many of the country’s very largest and account for roughly 55% of students enrolled at the 50 biggest overall, according to the AP analysis, which looked at the largest campuses by 2019-2020 enrollment that offer on-campus housing and award bachelor’s degrees.
https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-only-on-ap-ca10e95511b4940375c037e871f939cd