University of Cincinnati ditches vaccine mandate

Starting the summer 2022 term, University of Cincinnati students, faculty, and staff will no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The announcement was made on Apr. 21. 

While the vaccine will no longer be mandated on campus, the Ohio university will continue to recommend students and university personnel continue to vaccinate and get boosted.

The website states that university decisions regarding vaccination policies are made in consult with “medical and public health experts” and directive is subjected to change “as needed.”

”Beginning with the 2022 summer term, the university no longer requires, but strongly recommends faculty, staff and students receive COVID-19 vaccines,” the announcement reads. “It is important to note that the university will continue to consult with medical and public health experts and may change our responses as needed.”

Students and faculty who are employed or study at a place where the vaccine is required may be required to adhere to the separate standards. Locations that may continue to require the vaccine include hospitals, clinical sites, or schools.

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”Members of the UC community who work and learn at sites with independent COVID-19 vaccination requirements (e.g., hospitals, clinical sites, schools) may be required to comply with requirements pertaining to those sites,” the website further states.  

Students who are still required to get the vaccine but refuse may face disciplinary action.

The website warns, “Non-compliance may prevent one from fulfilling one’s academic and professional objectives.”

The reversal puts the university another step toward pre-pandemic operation after the mask mandate was lifted in March.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hamilton County, which homes the campus community, is currently at low risk for COVID-19. 

Counties with a low COVID-19 Community Level report fewer than 200 cases per week per 100,000 people, and report fewer than 10% of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Per CDC guidelines, people in low-risk areas can choose to wear a mask if preferred.

”In response to updated CDC guidance, facial masking requirements have been lifted for UC faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Facial masks are no longer required to be worn inside campus buildings. [Guidance] is subject to change,” the website acknowledges.

Campus Reform has reported on the constant changes to university guidelines that are being made across the country. Lately, a surge of universities have moved to ditch requiring masks on campus but will still require students and faculty to be fully vaccinated.

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However, earlier this semester a number of Virginia schools reversed vaccine mandates after Attorney General Jason Miyares released a statement determining that such mandates violate state law.

Campus Reform reported on the number of schools that retracted the vaccination requirements shortly after.

In a Tuesday interview, Chief Medical Advisor to the President of United States Anthony Fauci declared the United States to be “out of the pandemic phase.” 

Fauci later clarified that while the pandemic is still ongoing worldwide, the United States has officially reached the point where hospitalizations and death are low, The Washington Post reported. 

Fauci now considers the United States to be transitioning from a pandemic to a “controlled endemicity.”

Campus Reform contacted the University of Cincinnati for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

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