Brown To Require Student Vaccinations For Fall Semester

Brown University on Tuesday joined a growing number of colleges that will require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning for in-person classes next fall.

“Starting in the Fall 2021 semester, Brown will require COVID-19 vaccines for all undergraduate, graduate and medical students who will be on campus or engage in any level of in-person instruction," Christina Paxson, president of the Ivy League school, wrote in a letter to the campus community posted online.

Medical and religious exemptions will be allowed.

The university is still weighing whether to require employees to be vaccinated. That decision is expected in the summer.

The Providence school anticipates a return to a more traditional pre-pandemic academic experience for the 2021-22 school year, including standard occupancy for student residences, and expanded dining and recreation options on campus, she said.

“This year has been difficult for so many members of our community as the months of this pandemic have stretched on, and I know we all look forward to a greater return to normal,” Paxson wrote. “Although aspects of our lives will continue to be influenced by public health considerations for quite some time, I am looking toward next year with a sense of optimism.”

Roger Williams University in Rhode Island last week announced that it would require all students to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus next fall. Northeastern University in Boston made a similar announcement Tuesday.