Princeton to require COVID-19 vaccination for students next fall

Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on Thursday, April 22 to reflect new details regarding students without access to FDA-authorized vaccines.

The University will require all undergraduate and graduate students planning to be on campus during the 2021–22 academic year to receive a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized COVID-19 vaccination, Dean of the College Jill Dolan shared in an April 20 memo to students.

Undergraduate students must receive their final dose of the vaccine no later than Aug. 1, and proof of vaccination must be uploaded to myUHS prior to arrival on campus.

According to a University press release, medical and religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement “will be granted in accordance with the University’s reasonable accommodation policies and legal requirements.”

More information regarding what students should do if unable to receive an FDA-approved vaccine will become available closer to the fall, the University’s FAQ website notes.

“For those students who are unable to receive an FDA-authorized vaccine (for example, international students traveling from certain countries), University Health Services intends to extend a grace period, subject to evolving public health guidelines,” according to the University web page.

As of Thursday, the webpage has been updated to reflect that students without access to an FDA-authorized vaccine “will have the opportunity to consult with UHS staff about whether vaccination in New Jersey is appropriate,” and that a grace period will be offered for students who are directed to get vaccinated in NJ.

The site also adds that if any students have received vaccines that are not FDA-authorized, UHS will make “individualized determinations” based on public health guidance.

Additionally, the University has not yet decided whether to require faculty, staff, and “others working or otherwise present on campus during the 2021–22 academic year” to provide proof of vaccination. However, the University “highly recommends vaccinations for all employees and other members of the campus community,” according to the press release.

As of now, the University has expressed its willingness to serve as a distribution point for the COVID-19 vaccine, but has yet to receive a supply from the state of New Jersey.

So far, dozens of colleges and universities have opted to require students to be vaccinated before arrival to campus in fall 2021, including Brown, Columbia, Yale, and other peer institutions.