Ohio State University mandates vaccines for students, faculty and staff

Ohio State University on Tuesday announced it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all students, faculty and staff in light of the Food and Drug Administration granting Pfizer’s vaccine full approval.

“With Monday’s news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Ohio State will now require every student, faculty and staff member to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” President Kristina M. Johnson said in a message to the campus community.

“The university is taking this step because vaccines are the safest and most effective form of protection against COVID-19. We are focused on enhancing the health and safety of our community,” she added. “This step will increase our ability to support our students in continuing their educational experiences as well as help protect our current and the state’s future workforce.”

Individuals at Ohio State University will be required to have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15, with the deadline for the second dose set for one month later on Nov. 15.

According to Johnson’s message, over 73 percent of the Ohio State University community has received at least one dose of a vaccine already.

The reporting process for those who have already been vaccinated has yet to be announced.

In July, Ohio’s seven-day average for daily COVID-19 cases hovered around 250 a day, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. As of Monday, the seven-day average has risen to just over 3,000. The seven-day average of deaths has remained relatively low and was reported at eight on Monday.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, 60 percent of Ohio’s eligible population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

— Updated on Aug. 25 at 7:06 a.m.