PA Colleges Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine: See The List

PENNSYLVANIA — Hundreds of colleges nationwide, including several in Pennsylvania, are having students return to class this fall with more than a computer and textbooks in tow.

Nearly 600 colleges and universities are now requiring students, faculty, staff or a combination of the three to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before coming back to campus, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Of those, 35 are in Pennsylvania.

Here’s the full list of colleges in Pennsylvania now requiring the vaccine and who is required to get it:

Allegheny College, Meadville

• Announced: May 18
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Alvernia University, Reading

• Announced: May 24
• Who Must Be Vaccinated:all students

Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr

• Announced: April 28
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Bucknell University, Lewisburg

• Announced: May 13
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Cabrini University, Radnor

• Announced: June 25
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh

• Announced: May 11
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Chatham University, Pittsburgh

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Dickinson College, Carlisle

• Announced: April 30
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Drexel University, Philadelphia

• Announced: April 20
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Duquesne University, Pittsburgh

• Announced: June 3
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster

• Announced: May 18
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Gettysburg College, Gettysburg

• Announced: May 20
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Gwynedd Mercy University, Gwynedd Valley

• Announced: April 30
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Haverford College, Haverford

• Announced: April 28
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Immaculata University, East Whiteland

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Lafayette College, Easton

• Announced: May 26
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Lehigh University, Bethlehem

• Announced: April 21
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Mercyhurst University, Erie

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Muhlenberg College, Allentown

• Announced: April 28
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Neumann University, Aston

• Announced: June 17
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Point Park University, Pittsburgh

• Announced: June 29
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Rosemont College, Rosemont

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia

• Announced: June 10
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove

• Announced: June 21
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore

• Announced: April 30
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

• Announced: April 29
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

• Announced: April 22
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

University of Scranton, Scranton

• Announced: May 19
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

University of the Sciences, Philadelphia

• Announced: April 29
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Ursinus College, Collegeville

• Announced: April 29
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Villanova University, Villanova

• Announced: June 3
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Washington & Jefferson College, Washington

• Announced: June 3
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: all students

Widener University, Chester

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

Williamson College of the Trades, Media

• Announced: n/a
• Who Must Be Vaccinated: employees, all students

As of July 20, 586 colleges were mandating the vaccine in some capacity. The list compiled by the publication is updated regularly.

As the delta variant continues to spread across the country, the number of colleges requiring the vaccine will likely climb. Daily average coronavirus cases in the United States are hovering near 35,000, a 200 percent increase from 14 days ago, according to a database compiled by The New York Times. Deaths are also up 75 percent.

Colleges will also be battling a decline in the number of people seeking vaccines. Demand has slowed considerably in recent weeks and, currently, just under 60 percent of all adults in the United States are considered fully vaccinated.

In 2020, the pandemic emptied dormitories, lecture halls and other facilities as colleges shifted to remote instruction.

This year, college officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year in hopes of offering students a more traditional experience, which means in-person lectures, study groups in the library, and social gatherings.

So far, colleges have typically taken four different approaches, according to a report by U.S. News & World Report. While some are fully requiring vaccines, others are offering students incentives to voluntarily get immunized. Some are waiting to see if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approves a vaccine. Others are simply opting not to require it.

Currently, all COVID-19 vaccines in use in the United States have received emergency use authorization by the FDA, a status that some experts say makes mandating the vaccine a “legal gray area,” U.S. News reported.

Once the FDA fully approves a vaccine, colleges should have no difficulty requiring it, especially considering most already require students to provide proof of other vaccinations.