US colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations

U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should – or legally can – require it.

Some have already said students will have to get shots before returning to campus.  They say they will help protect their campuses and give students the confidence to return.  But some schools say they cannot legally require vaccinations because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only allowed the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines and hasn’t given them its full approval.  Still, other colleges are opting to recommend shots without requiring them.

Johnson and Johnson shots were made available to students at the University of North Dakota over the weekend.  According to the latest UND dashboard there are 28 faculty…students…and staff testing positive.