A new COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all students has been announced by several college universities, and could gain traction among others for the 2021-2022 school year. However, some universities have chosen to opt out of such requirements. 

Rutgers, Cornell, and other schools have officially stated that there will be a vaccine requirement for those who will attend in-person classes, with the exception of those who have religious or health concerns. Some students at Olathe North are in support of this decision. 

Jahnavi Panchal, a senior who will be attending San Diego State University (which currently mandates that students either receive the COVID-19 vaccine or get a test every other week), is in support of the vaccine/testing requirement in her school. “I think that these requirements are understandable and I think that they would help reduce the spread of COVID-19 across the campus,”  Panchal said. She also stated that she would prefer not having anyone receive the test at all at school. 

“Personally, it would be great if everybody was completely vaccinated because you can still get COVID in between those times and spread it to other people who aren’t vaccinated.” 

Panchal is not alone with her beliefs about the requirement. A survey on 1,000 undergraduate students, conducted by College Pulse, showed that over 70 percent of them were in support of the vaccination requirement, and that only 19 percent were against it. 

Still, some colleges and universities have opted to not require students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for various reasons. Harvard and Virginia Tech are among several universities strongly suggesting, but not requiring students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Overall, while college staff and students are divided over whether or not there should be a mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine, the effects of the pandemic might’ve helped them make a  decision. “We’re still in a pandemic, and there’s still people dying,” Panchal says.