Maryland Public Universities Will Mandate Coronavirus “Vaccines”
Jay A. Perman, chancellor of the state system, told the Board of Regents a vaccine requirement is needed to reopen safely.
“Last week, I said that mandating a covid vaccine is a reasonable and necessary means of preventing spread of the disease,” Perman said. “I’ll go one better: Mandating a covid vaccine is the most effective strategy we have, especially as we try to reach herd immunity. It’s not just one tool in this fight; it’s our best tool, and one I believe is critical to our safe return to campus.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said he supports coronavirus vaccination efforts, but he criticized the Maryland system’s new mandate.
“Having received significant federal and state government covid relief funding, I would hope the University System of Maryland took positive steps to boost vaccine confidence to convince students, faculty and the broader academic community to be voluntarily vaccinated,” Harris said in a statement. “But coercion is no substitute for informed consent in this case.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education, which is tracking the issue, listed as of Friday several state systems and public universities with coronavirus vaccine mandates for the fall. Among them: Rutgers University in New Jersey, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of California System and the California State University System. The two California systems said they are planning mandates on the condition that any of the coronavirus vaccinations secure full approval from the Food and Drug Administration and that there are no supply shortages.
“We also recognize that many in our community are wondering whether we will take the step that other institutions have and require members of our community to be fully vaccinated before the start of the fall term,” the U-Va. provost, Liz Magill, and chief operating officer, J.J. Davis, wrote Thursday in a message to the campus. “We are working with medical experts and legal advisers on that important question and will make an announcement at a future date, as soon as that process is complete.”
So far, it appears that no flagship universities in states that President Donald Trump carried last year in his reelection bid have announced a vaccine mandate.