THUNDER BAY – A spokesperson for Lakehead University says the Thunder Bay school has no plans to require proof of vaccination for students to return to campus.
Several schools in the United States have publicly stated students will need to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in person.
Both Yale University and Columbia University have said it will be a requirement for all students. Yale is also looking at whether or not it will require the same of faculty and other staff.
Columbia senior executive vice-president Gerry Rosberg and senior vice-president and chief operating officer, Donna Lynne, on Monday issued a letter detailing the mandatory vaccination requirement for students to be present on campus.
“We regard this decision as essential to ensuring the health of Columbia students and the broader University and surrounding community, and also to containing the spread of the virus in New York City, one of the most severely affected locations in the country throughout this past 13 months,” the letter reads.
Exemptions will be in place for religious or medical reasons.
The school cited continuing high rates of infection in the New York area, in particular, noting that vaccination rates are growing and a far brighter picture could present itself by fall when the 2021-22 school year is set to begin.
Emory University in Atlanta will also require vaccination to attend in-person classes, as have American, Rutgers and Georgetown universities.
According to the New York Times, 40 per cent of Americans have received at least a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 26 per cent of the country is fully vaccinated. In Canada, 25 per cent of the public has received at least one dose, but just 2.5 per cent have received a double dose.
TBNewswatch has reached out for comment from Confederation College about their vaccination policy for students moving forward.
Both Thunder Bay schools largely moved to online learning in 2020-21. Neither school has indicated if in-person classes will be a reality by fall.
