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Ohio University Announces Vaccine Mandate For Students And Employees
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University announced that it is implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, faculty and staff at all of its campuses.
The deadline to become fully vaccinated, which means both doses for a two-dose vaccine, is Nov. 15.
“Public health experts are tracking an increase in cases in Ohio and on our campuses due to the extremely contagious Delta variant, and we need to do everything we can to continue to show our care and respect for one another and do our part to help keep the entire community safe and healthy,” university President Hugh Sherman said in a email sent to employees and students.
The mandate includes employees who are working remotely. It does not apply to students who are enrolled exclusively in fully online classes and will not set foot on a campus.
Exemptions to the mandate will be made for medical reasons or for reasons of conscience, including ethical and moral belief or sincerely held religious beliefs.
Vaccination clinics are offered on the Athens campus and at many of the regional campuses.
Students and employees will be required to provide proof of vaccination by uploading a copy of their vaccine card through the university’s COVID-19 Testing Pathway Program.
The university also said that if and when booster shots are recommended, it will update its vaccination policy to reflect those recommendations.
Other universities in Ohio, including Ohio State, have already implemented vaccine mandates.