The University of Virginia (UVA) disenrolled 240 students because they are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
UVA warned students earlier in May that failure to get vaccinated could result in disenrollment from the university. Students had to submit copies of their vaccination records online by July 1 to enroll in fall classes.
It is the equivalent of 1% of the student body, according to a local reporter for CBS Affiliate WCAV, though only 49 of the 242 students were enrolled in classes for the fall semester.
The state’s Attorney General, Mark Herring, wrote in an April statement that “public colleges and universities may condition in-person attendance on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine” as long as they made appropriate accommodations for those with a medical or religious exemption.
Students exempt from the vaccine are required to undergo weekly testing as well as “other public health measures,” UVA said in a statement.
“This approach will enable our students to return to a residential academic setting where they can live, study, and gather together safely,” UVA wrote. “We expect that most classes will be offered in-person only, without a concurrent virtual option.”
“Currently, 55.3% of the total population of Virginia is fully vaccinated, while 62.5% of the population has had at least one dose of the COVID-19 shot,” notes Business Insider.
UVA is not the only school requiring those on-campus to be fully vaccinated before the start of the upcoming semester.
Across the country, “colleges have adopted vaccine mandates, a few are charging students a fee for being unvaccinated and many are hosting vaccine clinics on move-in days. If all that wasn't enough, countless colleges are also offering flashy rewards to encourage students and faculty to get their shots,” reports WBUR.
Schools are offering students the chance to win a laptop, gift cards, or tuition remission by submitting their vaccination cards.
Emily Largent, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, told WBUR, “Incentives really work best when they're aimed at people who are not against being vaccinated, but they have for whatever reason not prioritized vaccination up until now.”
Other universities, like West Virginia Wesleyan University and Quinnipiac University, are fining unvaccinated students or limiting their on-campus activity.
“Approximately 96.6% of UVA students have confirmed that they are vaccinated against COVID-19, including 97.1% of students living in on-grounds residence halls,” says UVANews. As of August 28, “335 permanent waivers and 184 temporary waivers have been granted. Temporary waivers were granted for students who had trouble getting vaccinated where they were living over the summer, but intend to get vaccinated as they return to Grounds.”
