Adelphi University says all students must take COVID-19 vaccine by fall

Adelphi University officials have announced they will require all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to the Garden City-based campus for the fall semester.

A post on the school’s website Monday said university officials have been continually monitoring the science and data regarding the spread of the virus.

"For the well-being of our community and to enable our return to a full academic experience this year," all students must be fully vaccinated for in-person instruction, the post said.

A vaccine incentive program had been launched on May 10 to encourage students, staff and faculty to get vaccinated, according to the post, but since then, only 26% of students have uploaded proof of full vaccination.

The website post also cited the latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding surging cases of the disease, increased hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. It also noted that 97% of all hospital admissions from COVID-19 are among unvaccinated people.

Scientific evidence shows the benefits of the vaccine, the post continued, and how it helps to prevent further spread of the virus.

In an email Monday night, Adelphi associate director for media relations Taylor Damian said "our university and community have been highly successful at preventing the spread of the virus on campus — our case positivity rate remained far below the State-mandated closure threshold and we consistently kept our infection rate substantially below that of our surrounding community."

Adelphi joins other colleges in the region with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In May, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that all students returning to in-person learning at SUNY and CUNY schools statewide would have to be fully vaccinated.

Also in May, Hofstra University officials said the school would require full vaccination beginning in September.

There will be an opportunity for those who want to seek a medical or religious exemption, university officials said at the time. Hofstra's requirement does not include students who are in fully online programs or those taking in-person classes remotely.