Rutgers to Require Vaccine for Students in On-Campus Classes

(Bloomberg) -- Rutgers University is requiring proof of the Covid-19 vaccine for students to enroll in the fall semester, with limited exemptions.

Students taking fully remote programs won’t be required to be vaccinated, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based school said in a statement Thursday.

Colleges are eager to return to normal, with students taking in-person classes, living in dorms and eating in dining halls. They’ve been strapped financially with fewer enrollments and less revenue coming from sources including dining, parking and athletics.

“Widespread vaccination will accelerate the return to a pre-pandemic normal on the university’s campuses, including increased in-person course offerings, more on-campus events and activities and more collaboration in instructional and research projects,” school officials said in the statement.

Read more: A Vaccine Passport Is the New Golden Ticket as the World Reopens

Rutgers has been approved by the state to administer vaccines on campus to faculty, staff and students once vaccine supplies are available. Colleges across the U.S. are planning to use stadiums and arenas to vaccinate thousands of people.

“We are aware that many schools are having discussions about whether to include Covid vaccine in their immunization requirements,” said Anita Barkin, co-chair of the American College Health Association Covid-19 task force. “We are not aware of many schools that have already made that decision.”

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