Notre Dame to require COVID-19 vaccinations for the fall
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The University of Notre Dame says it will require all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for this year's fall semester.
University officials notified the campus community of the requirement in a letter Wednesday. It says it will accommodate documented medical or religious exemptions to vaccinations.
'œRequiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 is a new and important addition to our health policies, one that we believe will enhance public health at Notre Dame and in our community, while also contributing to our ability to return to a more vibrant campus environment,'ť university President Rev. John Jenkins said.
The announcement came in advance of Notre Dame opening a clinic Thursday to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech two-dose vaccine.
Notre Dame officials encouraged students to be vaccinated at the clinic in the coming weeks. They said Indiana health officials have assured the university an ample supply is available to fully inoculate the student body and any faculty and staff who have not yet been vaccinated.
The university will work with international students who may have received other types of vaccines that have not ben approved in Indiana, spokesman Dennis Brown told the South Bend Tribune.
Other universities including Brown, Cornell and Rutgers have announced plans for similar vaccine requirements.
Spokesmen for Indiana University and Purdue University said neither institution is requiring the vaccine yet.