DePaul University Will Require COVID-19 Vaccines For Any Students Who Will Be On Campus In Fall
CHICAGO (CBS) -- DePaul University announced Wednesday that it will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they plan to be on campus in the fall.
This goes for all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who plan to be on campus for any length of time starting in the fall 2021 quarter.
"Why is DePaul requiring students to be vaccinated? Simply put: safety, mutual care and social responsibility," Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban, president of DePaul, wrote in an email to the university community. "The health and safety of our community, and the communities in which our students, faculty and staff live, have driven DePaul's decision-making throughout the pandemic."
There will still be mitigations in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as the university emphasized that COVID-19 will not completely disappear by the fall.
"We also know that the COVID-19 vaccines have been proven effective at greatly reducing the spread of the virus, as well as preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19. When used in combination with other COVID-19 prevention measures, vaccines provide protection against the virus," Esteban wrote by email.
Some other universities across the country have issued the same requirement – among the first was Rutgers University in New Jersey. In March, one doctor told CBS 2's Tara Molina that people should prepare for a vaccination requirement to become the norm soon.
"In general, we require people coming to public schools or even private schools to be vaccinated against risky conditions, so this is really no different," said Dr. Mark Loafman, head of Family and Community Medicine for Cook County Health.