Ohio State University announced Tuesday it would require “every student, faculty and staff member to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”
The university’s president, Kristina M. Johnson, said the decision was made amid a rise of the delta variant.
"Central, southern and southeastern Ohio have now recorded the highest number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients since January,” Johnson stated. “Further, the number of hospitalized patients in these areas of the state rose an alarming 448% between mid-July and mid-August.”
Students, faculty, and staff must receive at least one dose of the vaccine by Oct. 15 and the second dose by Nov. 15.
The university says students who are not fully vaccinated by Spring 2022 will not be allowed to participate in on-campus events, including in-person classes.
Staff members face disciplinary action if they fail to get fully vaccinated, according to the university.
The vaccine mandate came one day after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently operating under emergency use authorization.
Ohio State joins numerous other universities in mandating COVID-19 vaccines. The University of Michigan, the University of California system, and Minnesota state colleges and universities are among the larger institutions mandating COVID-19 vaccines.
