Pushback challenges vaccination requirements at US colleges

The quickly approaching fall semester has America’s colleges under pressure to decide how far they should go to guard their campuses against COVID-19 while navigating legal and political questions and rising infection rates, writes Tom Davies for Associated Press.

Hundreds of colleges nationwide have told students in recent months they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before classes begin. California State University, the country’s largest four-year public university system, joined the list last week, along with Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. Their announcements cited concerns about the highly contagious Delta variant and came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated mask guidelines based on new research regarding its spread.

Yet many more colleges have held off on vaccine mandates in a reflection of the limits school leaders face in adopting safety requirements for in-person classes. In many Republican-led states, governments have banned vaccine mandates, or school leaders face political pressure to limit their anti-virus actions even among students who live in packed residence halls. Opponents say the requirements tread on personal freedoms. Some campuses have sidestepped pushback by, instead, offering enticements, such as prize drawings for free tuition and computers, as they seek to boost student vaccination rates to 80% or higher.
Full report on the ABC News site