Rutgers To Require Vaccine Proof For 'All Students Planning To Attend This Fall'

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
NPR
@NPR
Rutgers University will require students enrolling for the fall semester to show they've received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Students will be able to seek an exemption from the requirement "for medical or religious reasons," officials say.

Rutgers To Require Vaccine Proof For 'All Students Planning To Attend This Fall'
The New Jersey school says its new COVID-19 requirement will help it make "a full return to our pre-pandemic normal" on campus.
npr.org
1:33 PM · Mar 25, 2021

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/25/981215860/rutgers-to-require-vaccine-proof-for-all-students-planning-to-attend-this-fall

[dawg day]

1. As long as they're willing to provide vaccines. ..

Some young people might fall through the cracks. But point of service shots ahead of enrollment will take care of this.

[hlthe2b]

2. "religious reasons..."

A state health department that I am very familiar with (but will go unnamed) took it upon themselves--(after the third childhood measles death in one year and multiple outbreaks) to request an opinion from their State Attorney General as to whether than could add some requirements for those requesting "religious exemption" from childhood vaccines for those enrolling in school each year. That state had no "philosophical" exemption. Court cases/precedent at the time were fully in support of the state's abilities to enforce childhood vaccination for school attendance in those without documented medical exemption and the answer was "yes." So, over a two-year period, those requesting religious exemption (RE) were required to submit a statement that identified the tenet of their religion (if an established church) or self-identified religious belief that preempted receiving any and all vaccinations, for review.

You guessed it. Few submitted and most simply went ahead and got the children vaccinated. For those who claimed, LDS, Catholicism, Christian Scientist and several other denominations had such tenets rejecting vaccination, the individuals were provided documented letters from National senior leadership of their faith/church, who had been contacted in advance and who had unequivocally indicated that there was no such tenet and that in fact, they supported vaccination. Those that provided some description of individual belief or scripture that at least seemed to address the subject at hand, despite not being a member of organized religion were generally granted the exemption. The others were not.

You guessed it. The percentage of children unvaccinated attending school for anything but documented valid medical contraindications dropped dramatically for at least a decade and as the "word got out," fewer requested such non-medical exemptions.

This was a couple of decades ago and the politicization of all things religion and health probably mean the state no longer enforces such a policy. I haven't kept up. But, for at least a decade, "religion as an excuse" did not get in the way of effective public health protection

I only say this because self-professed "religion' should not be the crutch upon which we unquestionably fail to do the right thing to the public's detriment. It really should not. People will claim religion as an excuse for any number of things they should be doing. But it is most generally just that, an excuse and they will "fold" when merely asked to substantiate the claim.

[Shermann]

3. Religious exceptions you say?

A colander on the head outta do the trick.

[Delphinus]

4. I'm not against this,

but is it a violation of HIPPA? My husband's church was thinking of asking for proof of vaccination before attending and was told that was not allowed (and I *think* it was due to HIPPA).