The University of California now says it will require all students and faculty to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to campus this fall.
In April, administrators had initially said UC would only require students and staff to be vaccinated after full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for at least one of the three vaccines available in the U.S.
Currently, the three vaccines – produced by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer – have only been approved for emergency use authorization by the FDA. It’s not clear when the agency will give full approval.
But on Monday, UC Regent Eloy Oritz Oakley told the San Francisco Chronicle that UC President Michael Drake "does plan to move forward with the vaccine mandate." Oakley said UC regents have not been briefed on the new decision, but that more information is expected at their two-day meeting beginning July 21.
UC has more than 228,000 students and 227,000 staff.
The system is expected to return to mostly in-person learning at its 10 campuses this fall. Students are allowed to get an exemption from vaccine requirements if they have medical or religious reasons, officials said.
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