The University of Virginia (UV) has disenrolled more than 240 students for the fall semester because they did not receive COVID-19 shots before in-person classes resume.
In a series of social media posts, CBS news anchor Kathryn Young revealed that only 49 out of the 242 disenrolled students at UV had actually registered for on-campus classes this upcoming semester.
Furthermore, the total number of disenrolled students only comprises one percent of the student body. This means that 99 percent of students at UV are either vaccinated or exempted for medical or religious reasons.
Earlier this year, the university announced that it is requiring all students “who will live, learn, or work in person” at any part of the campus to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It also told its students to upload proof of vaccination on or before July 1 to be allowed to attend in-person classes.
UV warned its students that failure to comply with the vaccine mandate could result in deactivation of ID cards and not being allowed access to various resources on campus.
Attorney General Upholds Vaccine Mandate
Despite several students protesting vaccine mandates of academic institutions, Attorney General Mark R. Herring insisted that Virginia colleges and universities “may condition in-person attendance on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine” amid the on-going health crisis.
He pointed out that vaccination plays a crucial role in keeping the pandemic under control and putting people, including students, on a path towards normalcy.
“Students deserve the chance to go to classes in-person and take advantage of all that their schools have to offer, but over the past year we have seen numerous COVID outbreaks on school campuses, so we must make sure that they are doing so with the health and safety of their peers and communities in mind,” the attorney general explained in a press release.
In addition to being allowed to impose a vaccine mandate, Herring said higher education institutions in Virginia may condition students’ attendance at various activities on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.