This archive report was first published on 22 May 2021.
For Colleges, Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates Often Depend on Which Party Is in Power ¶
As the US grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities are facing a difficult decision: whether to require students to be vaccinated against the virus. The answer often depends on the party in power in the state where the institution is located.
According to a tracker created by The Chronicle of Higher Education, as of this weekend, only 34 colleges and universities, roughly 8 percent, are in states that voted for Donald J. Trump. Nine of those were added on Friday, when Indiana University and its satellite campuses became rare public universities in a Republican-controlled state to mandate vaccines.
With many colleges facing falling enrollments and financial pressure, the decision whether to require vaccinations can have huge consequences. Particularly in Republican-controlled states, college presidents are weighing a delicate equation — part safety, part politics, part peer pressure and part economic self-interest.
“If you are a public college president, getting on the wrong side of a governor or state legislature can be a career-ending action,” said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education.
However, some university presidents have cited the lack of F.D.A. approval as a compelling reason not to make vaccines mandatory. “I think that those that are in the blue states are not following the law,” said Tommy G. Thompson, the University of Wisconsin system’s interim president.
Along with needing to be on the right side of the law, universities are very aware of being on the right side of state politics. In Florida and Texas, the governors have issued executive orders prohibiting businesses from requiring customers to provide proof of immunization. Whether the same rules apply to schools is not always clear, but the signals from state government are hard to miss.
One of the first colleges in the country to adopt a vaccine mandate was Fort Lauderdale-based Nova Southeastern University, which announced its policy in March. The university's policy allows some wiggle room, with students able to apply for a religious or medical exemption.
As of May 22, 2021, a total of 400 colleges and universities have announced vaccine mandates, with 15 conservative-led states, including Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama, not having a single university that has announced a vaccine requirement.
