NOTRE DAME, INDIANA – This week, the University of Notre Dame was added to the growing list of universities that are requiring their students to be vaccinated prior to returning to campus in the fall. Aside from exempting documented religious and medical exemptions, the university is moving forward with a policy that affects the entire study population.

In a press release on Wednesday April 7, Notre Dame’s president Father Jenkins was quoted saying, “Requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 is a new and important addition to our health policies, one that we believe will enhance public health at Notre Dame and in our community, while also contributing to our ability to return to a more vibrant campus environment.”

Also in the press release, the new COVID vaccine is likened to hepatitis B, chickenpox, tetanus, and other well-established immunizations that the university already requires its students to have.

Other universities requiring vaccines include Rutgers University, Cornell University, Brown University and Northeastern University. These schools will enforce their new policy by expecting all students to have valid documentation of their vaccination. Now the choices for students attending these schools have been taken away and, if they want to pursue an education at one of these universities, they have to comply with the new vaccination requirements.