Many universities and colleges in the United States required proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for attendance when the shots were first introduced and, until recently, many of these academic institutions also required receipt of the new COVID bivalent booster shots.1 But almost two years since the rollout of the original COVID shots, many universities and colleges are now dropping their mandatory COVID requirements as a condition of students being able to enroll.
Tufts University Drops Vaccine Mandate Due To Non-Compliance
In the fall of 2022, Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts had a policy that required faculty, students and staff to obtain a COVID bivalent booster shot by Jan. 31, 2023. However, on Jan. 5, 2023, the university dropped the requirement.2
Patrick Collins, Tufts University executive director of media relations, said:
However, it became increasingly clear over the fall semester that, after nearly three years of the pandemic, we needed to try a new strategy. Simply put, continuing to mandate the bivalent booster was not having the effect we had hoped it would [on compliance] and, as a result, it increasingly became apparent that fully enforcing a mandate would be impractical.”3
On Nov. 30, 2022, Tufts announced that only 50 percent of its students had received the COVID bivalent booster shots.4
Michigan State University Ends COVID Vaccination Policy Stating Shots are a Personal Health Responsibility
On Feb. 28, 2023, Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan announced that students and staff would no longer be required to show proof of COVID vaccination in order to study and work on campus. The university’s policy required students and staff to receive at least one COVID bivalent booster shot in addition to initial two-dose regimen of the original COVID monovalent shots.5
Michigan State’s university physician Michael Brown, MD said:
Thus, as the pandemic continues to shift from an acute public health crisis to a personal health responsibility, MSU no longer will require the COVID-19 vaccination for students, staff and faculty, effective today. There still may be limited situations in which professional students and employees must be vaccinated due to the requirements of the hospitals and health care facilities where they work and study.6
Miami University Drops Its COVID Vaccination Policy Because the Shots Do Not Prevent Transmission
Miami University in Oxford, Ohio announced that it was dropping its COVID vaccination requirement on Feb. 28, 2023. The university issued a statement saying:
Over time, we have seen that the vaccine remains effective at reducing the severity of symptoms associated with COVID-19, but does not always prevent the spread of new variants of the virus. We continue to recommend that all members of our community receive the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters if they are able as a way to reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.7
Springfield College Set To Drop COVID Vaccine Mandate Pointing Out COVID is a Mild Illness
On Feb. 16, 2023, Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts e-mailed its students and staff to announce that the mandatory requirement for COVID shots will be lifted on May 15, 2023. The college’s director of the Health Center, nurse practitioner Kathleen Hogan-Solty said:
The CDC and ACHA have found that the majority of people aged 18 to 25, when they get COVID, it is typically a mild illness. There is no mortality or even morbidity associated with it.
Hogan-Solty added:
The decision was based on what they know now. That is that younger people under 50 do not get COVID as a severe disease, and more of a common cold or a case of the flu.8
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