The pandemic adds an extra layer of pressure to an already overwhelmed college student.
That’s what Austin Cole, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown,
“It’s stressful right now, because you don’t know what’s going to be happening a week from now, especially with new variants happening,” he says.
That’s why he’s glad the University of Pittsburgh is imposing a vaccine mandate for all students, faculty, and staff across all campuses.
“I think it’s an opportunity to reduce some of that stress of not knowing what’s going to happen,”
Starting on December 6th, everyone in the Panther community must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption.
The exemption could be for medical, moral, or religious reasons.
Failure to do so could result in students not being able to enroll for classes, and faculty could face fines or termination.
“I do think it’s necessary to have a mandate, especially in a school like Pitt and this branch campus to keep everybody safe,”
According to University Spokesperson, the mandate is needed to ensure normal and consistent education and programming.
“The most successful and sustainable approach to keeping our community healthy and safe is one that utilizes vaccination as a condition of studying or working on our campuses,” they wrote to us in an emailed statement.
“By enforcing this requirement now, we will be able to maintain a high immunization rate on our campuses, while continuing to support our students and research, as well as protect our workforce, with minimal disruption to our programs, activities, or operations,”
