Univerity At Buffalo - UB Now: UB To Require Students To Be Vaccinated To Attend Fall In-Person Classes

Press release from the University at Buffalo - UB Now:

JAY REY

May 11, 2021

COVID-19 UPDATES  •  4/26/2021

UB students will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend classes in person in the fall as part of an effort to boost vaccination rates on SUNY campuses, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. 

The mandate for all 64 campuses in the SUNY system is pending final approval of the vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration, and will also require the approval of the SUNY Board of Trustees. Currently, the vaccines are approved for emergency authorization use only. 

The governor’s decision is strongly supported by UB leaders in order for students to resume in-person instruction and activities when the fall semester begins. 

“Vaccination is the most effective way to protect yourself from getting COVID-19; requiring it of our students will help assure a safe, in-person experience on campus in the fall,” says Michael Cain, vice president for health sciences, dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and chair of UB’s health and safety committee.

Over the next several days and weeks, UB will continue to urge all current and in-coming students to schedule their shots as soon as possible at clinics in Western New York and in their home communities throughout the U.S. where vaccine appointments are readily available. UB international students currently living abroad are also encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible in their home countries.

Since the beginning of April, when Cuomo announced that college-aged students were eligible to receive the vaccine, UB has been leading a campaign encouraging all students to get vaccinated. 

Currently, 4,200 UB students have indicated to the university they been fully vaccinated, and in a recent UB survey, 88% of students said they are vaccinated, in the process of getting vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated. UB expects the number of fully vaccinated students to grow considerably over the next few months, leading up to the fall semester when the university will return to a much more prominent in-person experience.

While it is not required that on-campus employees are vaccinated, UB strongly encourages faculty and staff to make vaccination appointments as soon as possible as well.

This press release was produced by the University at Buffalo - UB Now. The views expressed here are the author’s own.