Western Pa. universities weigh covid vaccine requirements for fall

Leaders at colleges and universities in Western Pennsylvania are grappling with how to safely restart classes in the fall — specifically, if requiring covid vaccination should be part of that strategy.

Carnegie Mellon University announced last week that it would require students to get a vaccine before returning to campus. It’s certainly not the first to do so: across the U.S. nearly 350 colleges and universities have announced vaccination requirements for students, faculty and staff, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald praised CMU’s decision, endorsing the plan during a news conference.

“I very much support Carnegie Mellon making the decision that they’re going to require vaccination for their student body,” Fitzgerald said. “For those folks who don’t get vaccinated, it’s going to be very difficult. They’re going to have to quarantine when they travel, they may not be invited to certain events, meetings, etc.”

Though several universities in the area are planning for a return to full in-person learning this fall, and several have hosted vaccine clinics for students, only Carnegie Mellon has made inoculation a concrete requirement for being on campus. Many of the region’s institutions are still considering the move.

At the University of Pittsburgh, spokesman Kevin Zwick said leaders are reviewing the university’s vaccine strategy and consulting with experts.

“With the goal to provide an in-person experience in the fall term, our senior leadership team is carefully reviewing a number of options related to the vaccination of our community,” he said. “University medical and public health experts are contributing to the conversations.”

At a meeting of Pitt’s Faculty Assembly in April, some professors proposed that all students be required to get vaccinated to participate in on-campus activities next fall, The Pitt News reported. The student newspaper reported that most assembly members supported the proposal, but some were concerned about how the university would handle religious exemptions. The resolution was ultimately passed last week.

Around the same time, Zwick had said it didn’t seem guaranteed that every student would have equal access to the vaccine by August — another consideration for requiring the vaccine.

Seton Hill University in Greensburg and Saint Vincent College, in Unity, both offered students the option of face-to-face learning this year and plan to do so next fall. But neither has mandated vaccines as yet.

Seton Hill spokeswoman Jen Reeger said university officials are “currently engaged in discussions around all health and safety protocols — including vaccinations” for the fall semester.

“We strongly encourage students, faculty and staff to receive the vaccination, but the college has not made it mandatory,” said Saint Vincent spokesman Jim Berger.

Several universities in the area and across the state are in the same state of uncertainty, including Duquesne, Carlow and Penn State University.

Penn State’s Faculty Senate last week approved a resolution to require the vaccine for students and employees before the fall — but administrators later said they have no intention of mandating vaccines at this time.

“Carlow University is currently evaluating whether or not to make full covid-19 inoculation compulsory for students in the fall semester,” said Carlow spokesman Sean McFarland. “We hope to have a final decision in the coming weeks.”

McFarland added that while no final decision has been made, exemptions would likely be made for students who decline the vaccine for religious or medical reasons. Classes will be in-person at Carlow in the fall, but the university will continue offering some remote and hybrid courses, he said.

Robert Morris University spokesman Jonathan Potts said the university in Moon is “exploring a range of options” for ensuring students and employees get vaccinated.

“Thus far we have not made it mandatory,” Potts said.

And for schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, it appears leaders’ hands are tied. David Pidgeon, director of public relations for the State System, said the schools can’t mandate students or faculty to get the vaccine without governmental approval.

“At this time, the State System does not have the legal authority to mandate students, faculty, and staff receive the covid-19 vaccine,” Pidgeon said. “Such authority would require an act of the state Legislature.”

Mandated vaccines for college students is just one trend occurring in an effort to grow herd immunity in the United States. Organizations, businesses and governments across the nation are finding new ways to incentivize the covid-19 vaccine. Fitzgerald recently applauded Pittsburgh event venues trying to implement separate seating sections for vaccinated spectators.

In a letter earlier this week, CMU leaders noted the scientific evidence in support of widespread vaccine adoption to control the spread of the virus.

“As we look forward to being back together on campus this fall, creating and maintaining a healthy campus environment continues to be our top priority,” the letter reads.

There is significant legal precedent allowing colleges and K-12 schools to require vaccines for students on campus, but legal experts say there may still be some challenges ahead.

For one thing, universities have never required a vaccine that had not yet received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Eric Feldman, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School. All three of the vaccines in circulation in the U.S. have received Emergency Use Authorization, but await final approval.

Feldman said it wouldn’t be surprising if there were some lawsuits against universities for this reason. However, by the time litigation concluded, the vaccines would probably be approved.

“I think these institutions are on pretty strong ground,” he said. “It’s an inevitability, at this point, that these vaccines are going to be approved. … It’s just a question of timing.”

The greater barrier facing universities with vaccine mandates will probably come with enforcement, Feldman said. Federal authorities have already identified a rise in fake vaccine cards. Universities will need to determine what they see as adequate proof of inoculation — it may end up being based on the “honor code.”

Implementing this strategy won’t be without its “hiccups,” he said, but it’s an important step in the right direction.

“If one sees as the important goal here, getting students and faculty back into the classroom safely, then vaccination is by far the most effective way we have right now for doing that,” he said.

Fitzgerald on Wednesday reiterated that receiving the vaccine is the most effective path back to normalcy.

“I think it’s just going to be very difficult for individuals to operate through many, many, many functions of society if they refuse to follow the science,” he said.