The Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Monday, which will enable vaccine mandates — like the one UB announced this summer — to be implemented in the fall.
University officials announced Aug. 16 that students will be required to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the first day of classes, on Aug. 30. Students who fail to do so “will be immediately resigned from all [in-person] courses,” UB said on its website.
Students will be held financially liable if they are forced to resign their courses due to non-compliance with the university’s COVID-19 policies, a UB spokesperson said. Students who get vaccinated after being resigned from their fall in-person courses will be permitted to re-enroll for the spring semester.
All students are required to be fully vaccinated to attend in-person classes in the fall, with limited exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Roughly 84% of classes will have at least a minimal in-person component, according to earlier guidance from the university.
As of early August, about 22,600 students had submitted proof of vaccination for the fall semester, according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada.
Students are required to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. UB has waived the weekly surveillance testing mandate for fully vaccinated students and will allow for full capacity — with attendees wearing masks — at campus football games.
Students are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Dan Eastman is the assistant managing editor and can be reached at danielson.eastman@ubspectrum.com
Dan Eastman is the assistant managing editor at The Spectrum. He is a senior geography major who loves Starbucks iced americano. When he isn’t writing and editing he is trying to find the best donut and cookie shops in Buffalo. He can be found on Twitter @TheEastMan2000.
