By Jackson Chadwick | “File:Sargent Hall Suffolk University.jpg” by Swampyank at English Wikipedia is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
In an email to students and staff, Suffolk University President Marisa Kelly announced that the “University will require all students and employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before coming to campus for the fall semester.”
The University’s decision comes several weeks after the Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution urging the Suffolk administration to implement a vaccination mandate. Prior to the resolution’s passage, SGA conducted a survey among the student body in which a majority of respondents said that vaccinations should be required in order to come on campus.
Other Boston schools, including Boston University, Northeastern University, and Suffolk’s neighbor, Emerson College, will require their students and staff to be vaccinated by the fall as well.
Suffolk’s vaccination mandate does allow for some medical and religious exemptions. Medical exemptions may be granted to students or staff “for whom receiving the COVID-19 vaccination is medically inadvisable, as well as persons who are pregnant or lactating.” Religious exemptions may be granted to students or staff who “sincerely [hold a] religious belief against vaccination.” Proper documentation must be submitted through the student health portal in order to be considered for either exemption.
Students who do not seek religious or medical exemptions are required to submit documentation of their COVID-19 vaccinations through the student health portal no later than Monday, August 16th.
To read more information about about Suffolk’s vaccination requirement, check out the University’s FAQ. Here, you will find more information on how to get vaccinated, mask requirements for the fall semester, and important information pertaining to international students.