Dr. Fauci on vaccinating kids before returning to school
Hundreds of colleges have said the Covid vaccine will be mandatory for fall 2021, and with just weeks left before classes start, not all students are on board.

Some are taking their cases to court, others are petitioning. And yet, no college has reversed its policy.

Earlier this week, a federal judge upheld Indiana University’s Covid vaccine requirement for the fall semester, dealing another blow to students who disagree with vaccine mandates.

Altogether, more than 500 colleges and universities across the country are requiring vaccines for at least some students or employees, according to data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education. In most cases, students who refuse to get vaccinated won’t be able to register for classes or will have their enrollment revoked.

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Most of these schools are concentrated on the East and West Coasts, including the State University of New York and the City University of New York, as well as California State University and the University of California, which impacts more than 1 million students, faculty and staff.

At the same time, only about 29% of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have received at least one dose, the lowest rate of any age group, according to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Alyssa Jones, 19, isn’t vaccinated even though she attends Virginia Tech — one of the schools that is requiring shots for the fall. Virginia Tech’s more than 37,000 undergraduates and graduate students must report that they are fully vaccinated by Aug. 6.

“We must do everything possible to avoid repeating the challenges of the last 14 months,” President Tim Sands said in a letter to the community.