As American schools begin the process of slowly reopening at all academic levels, over 100 colleges and universities are implementing the strictest requirements by demanding that all students receive a coronavirus vaccine before returning to school, according to CNN.
In the beginning of April, only about 14 campuses had announced such a policy. But by the end of the month, that number had increased exponentially. Only a handful of the schools have included possible exemptions for various medical, religious, or personal reasons. The majority of schools demanding such mandatory vaccinations are private schools.
The University of Massachusetts at Lowell put out a statement declaring that the university “will require all residential and commuter students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the beginning of the fall semester to live, learn, or visit any UMass Lowell campus or property.” The University of Portland not only made such conditions a requirement for students, but for all faculty as well.
Despite the increased efforts by various institutions, from schools to employers, to make the vaccines mandatory for business, a sizeable portion of Americans still have no plans to receive any of the three experimental vaccines currently being used on the population. A Quinnipiac University study shows that approximately 36 percent of American adults below the age of 35 do not expect to get the vaccine. Such a trend is backed up by the science, which shows that the youngest Americans, from young adults to teenagers and children, are the most likely to be immune from the coronavirus, unable to catch it or spread it to others.