A couple of weeks ago, Chancellor Martin and Provost Beverly Wendland announced the beginnings of the details of the fall plan for the 2021-2022 academic year. This plan outlined some of the basics of what the fall semester would look like, namely how housing and in-person instruction would look. However, the announcement also mentioned the University’s current ideas around the newly available vaccine, stating that “It is possible that we [the University] will require the vaccine for students, faculty or staff, depending on vaccine availability.”

I don’t intend to disparage the University for not mandating vaccinations out of the gate. There are many reasons as to why this option is still in question, one large reason being—as the University mentioned—the availability of the vaccine. However, assuming that vaccines will become more accessible as projected, the University should enact a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for members of the Wash. U. community.

There are many people who oppose the idea of mandatory vaccinations enforced by a school, this belief largely stemming from safety concerns. However, specifically in regards to COVID- 19, the vaccines are legitimate vaccinations that have shown promising potential in reducing the hospitalization and grave outcomes that have been associated with the virus. Furthermore, mandatory vaccinations are not a novel concept. Although there are some exemptions, the majority of states have mandatory vaccine policies for students who attend public and private schools. For Wash. U. specifically, in order to attend the University, students are required to receive two vaccines each for measles, mumps and rubella; the meningococcal vaccine; a tuberculosis test and, for the current academic year, an influenza vaccination as well. This demonstrates that mandatory vaccinations have long been enforced and followed. Why should we make the COVID-19 vaccination appear to be any different? 

If Wash. U. were to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, we certainly wouldn’t be the first university to do so, but rather, we’d be carrying on the positive trend. Duke University, Rutgers University, the University of Notre Dame and many other universities nationwide are requiring students to have proof of vaccination upon returning to campus. Given the density of population and activity on college campuses, coupled with the fluctuating nature of the virus spread, it’s fully justifiable for universities to require a vaccination. In a lot of ways, college students have shown that they will continue to act in ways that are not in accordance with CDC guidelines, potentially leading to preventable problems in the near future—problems that would be greatly reduced if not eradicated by the requirement of a COVID-19 vaccine on college campuses.

The University should honor health and religious exemptions for students, faculty and staff where such exemptions should be necessary. But collectively, we’ve endured a lot in the past year. We’ve watched as almost 3 million lives have been lost globally to the pandemic. We’ve spent a year apart from one another in an effort to protect ourselves and those we love. We’ve all been craving a normalcy that has felt so far out of reach, and the availability of a vaccine makes this dream seem a little less like a fantasy and more of a reality. Mandatory vaccinations are commonplace in our academic society, and furthermore, the existence of a vaccine allows us the potential to start rebuilding some of the time we’ve lost. The COVID-19 vaccination should not be viewed under any different lens than the vaccinations currently required for university entry, and the University should push for writing the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy into existence, too.