Updated: 5:59 PM EDT May 5, 2021 Another university in Massachusetts is requiring its students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus.Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow and other school officials made the announcement Wednesday in a letter to the campus community.Exceptions will be made for Harvard students who do not wish to be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons.Students who are planning to be on campus should be at least two weeks out from receiving their final dose of a Food and Drug Administration-authorized or approved vaccine Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson or by the World Health Organization, such as AstraZeneca, before the start of the upcoming fall semester.International students and others who are unable to get access to authorized COVID-19 vaccines before the fall will be offered vaccination upon arrival by the university. Those students, however, may be subject to additional requirements, such as more frequ
Harvard University shield
The University announced today that Harvard, like at least a couple of hundred other institutions of higher education (see
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s list here), will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to return to campus this fall.
President Lawrence S. Bacow, Provost Alan M. Garber, Executive Vice President Katie Lapp, and Giang T. Nguyen, executive director of Harvard University Health Services, wrote, “We hope to be able to offer a less restricted, robust on-campus experience for all our students this fall,” assuming rates of infection can be kept low. That will require continued regular coronavirus testing, with details on the regimen forthcoming.
This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board.
A day circled on many studentsâ calendars finally arrived this Monday. On April 19, all Massachusetts residents ages 16 and older became eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine: a shot at regaining our pre-pandemic lives.
This feels like a moment to celebrate, but itâs also a moment to take careful advantage of, and to approach with responsibility and care.
On the one hand, we are excited about the vaccination opportunities that our friends and classmates have already begun to pursue. Each dose administered will help reduce the increasing number of Covid-19 cases amongst young adults and help set the path back to normalcy for the College. These steps are vital for protecting one another and our neighbors in Cambridge.
International freshmen said they reacted to Harvardâs plan for an in-person fall with excitement but said it marks only the beginning of a multi-step process â complicated by visa policies and vaccination rollouts â they must complete before arriving in Cambridge in August.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay announced last month that the FAS is âexpecting a full return to campusâ and a return to in-person learning in fall 2021. The news came as a relief to many College students.
Gayâs announcement paves the way for international students in the Class of 2024 to learn on Harvardâs campus for the first time next fall. Federal visa restrictions barred international freshmen from living in Harvardâs dorms this academic year. Many reported their first semester of college was marked by social isolation, nocturnal schedules, and inadequate support from Harvard.
Ahead of Covid-19 vaccine eligibility in Massachusetts opening to all residents 16 years and older on Monday, a number of Harvard students have secured their doses in alternative ways, from qualifying for an earlier phase to getting their hands on a leftover dose.
Harvard, in line with other Boston-area colleges, has not yet administered any vaccines to students. Consistent with its statements throughout the semester, Harvard University Health Services said in its latest email update Friday that it has “received a very limited supply of vaccine” with no expectation of additional doses from the state in the near future.
HUHS directed students to pre-register as eligibility expands Monday and “seek all other available sources” for receiving their vaccines.