Under a new policy released Thursday, the University of California and California State University plan to require COVID-19 vaccinations for students, faculty and staff who access any campus facilities this fall.
The requirement would go into effect once a vaccine has full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or at the beginning of the fall 2021 term, whichever occurs later.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are currently being distributed under emergency-use authorization.
"Together, the CSU and UC enroll and employ more than one million students and employees across 33 major university campuses, so this is the most comprehensive and consequential university plan for COVID-19 vaccines in the country," said CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro.
The university systems have made the plan public now to ensure that students, faculty, academic appointees and staff have the opportunity to get vaccinated before the fall term starts, officials wrote.
"Receiving a vaccine for the virus that causes COVID-19 is a key step people can take to protect themselves, their friends and family, and our campus communities while helping bring the pandemic to an end," said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D.
Students and employees may seek an exemption from the requirement on medical or religious grounds.
Stanford University also announced similar plans on Thursday, requiring "all undergraduate, graduate and professional students coming to campus this fall to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19." Students who haven't been vaccinated will get assistance from the school to obtain one, a news release said.
A decision on vaccine status for Stanford's faculty and staff has not yet been made, but the school expected to provide an update on that soon.
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