MC updates vaccine requirement for campus community
Sept. 13, 2021
Maryville College has updated its COVID vaccine requirement for the 2021-22 academic year, removing the personal preference exemption.
In April, Maryville College announced that it was requiring, with some exceptions, that its faculty, staff and students be vaccinated against COVID-19 before Aug. 1, 2021, and the vaccine requirement was implemented with specified exceptions for medical reasons, religious reasons and personal preference. Throughout the Fall semester, all unvaccinated students and employees are included in periodic COVID-19 testing, and students who requested a personal preference exemption are being charged a COVID-19 testing fee of $250 for the semester.
College administrators stated in previous memos to the campus community that the College was reserving the option of removing the personal preference exemption category when a COVID-19 vaccine moved out of emergency use authorization (EUA).
Beginning in the Spring 2022 semester, the personal preference exemption to the COVID vaccine requirement will no longer be an option for students and employees. Both religious and medical exemptions will still be available.
In a memo distributed to the campus community on Sept. 7 from President Bryan F. Coker, the College’s Cabinet and COVID-19 Workgroup, administrators explained that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 23, 2021 for people aged 16 and older, thereby removing it from EUA.
“You will recall that we have repeatedly stressed that, once a vaccine received FDA approval, we would likely remove this personal preference exemption,” the memo read.
To ensure that students and employees are fully vaccinated before returning to campus for the Spring 2022 semester, the College is requiring members of the campus community to submit proof of complete vaccination by Dec. 1, 2021.
“We continue to encourage unvaccinated community members to join the majority of our campus community in becoming vaccinated against COVID-19 and helping facilitate our return to traditional campus life,” the memo said. “Our rates of vaccination remain impressive, with 90% of employees and 82% of students now having received at least one vaccination dose.”
On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden announced new vaccine requirements that could affect roughly 100 million Americans. This includes a requirement for employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccines or weekly testing for employees, and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an Emergency Temporary Standard to introduce the vaccine requirement, according to the Sept. 9 announcement.
“Maryville College’s vaccine requirement was instated over the summer, in an effort to safely deliver a fully in-person educational experience to students for the Fall 2021 semester,” Coker said. “With our updated vaccine requirement, we look forward to having a fully vaccinated campus for the Spring 2022 semester – and after President Biden’s recent announcement, we expect other colleges and universities to follow suit.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryville College has followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Tennessee Department of Health and will continue to do so, administrators said. Masks are currently required indoors on campus, regardless of vaccination status, and individuals are encouraged to exercise physical distancing while indoors.
Administrators stressed that the College strives to “continue to safely manage the current and evolving realities of the pandemic, while also demonstrating our care for others, both on-campus and beyond.”
The memo concluded with a reminder that “the approved Pfizer vaccine and other available vaccines continue to be available through numerous pharmacies in the area, and appointments are easy to find online.”
Walgreens was scheduled to operate a Pfizer vaccine clinic on campus on Sept. 13 for students, faculty and staff.