Duke University announced Friday that all new and recurring students will be required to submit evidence for a vaccine against COVID-19 before they can enroll in the fall semester of 2021.
“Looking to the future, we know that widespread vaccination will be the only way to facilitate a return to normal, robust campus life,” the Duke’s president, Vincent Price, wrote in a statement.
The requirement will extend from undergraduate students to professional students who intend to return to campus.
Vaccination tests must be submitted to the health of students on campus before they can enroll; documented medical and religious exemptions will be allowed.
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The university said all students and staff were given the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We believe vaccinations are the best and most effective way to continue our path to return to normalcy,” spokesman Michael Schoenfeld told ABC11. “They are effective, they are available to everyone.”
The recent vaccination requirement is one of Duke’s drastic efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. In March, the university issued a stay order at the site a week after experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases.
“The last fourteen months have been one of the most difficult and exhausting in the history of our university. Under great stress and often with great danger, we have remained committed to each other and to our missions of discovery, research and patient care “. Price ended his statement. “Today I ask you to join me in taking the next step toward the security and vitality of our university community.”
Duke University is the first university in the Triangle to require vaccinations. UNC-Chapel Hill told ABC11 that students will not provide confirmation of the vaccine unless the CDC requires otherwise.
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