UL System students will either need to provide proof of vaccination or claim a personal exemption the next time they register for classes, to enroll at the system’s nine schools. UL System President Jim Henderson said their request to add fully FDA-approved vaccines to their immunization schedule was approved by the State Department of health.
“We requested that in July and got approval in August, “said Henderson. “So as of today it is a part of the required immunization schedules at all nine of our institutions.”
LSU spokesperson Ernie Ballard tweeted that now that Pfizer has full FDA approval they will begin communicating the logistics of the campus’s vaccine mandate “soon”. Ballard said they need to fully review the approval and President William Tate plans on implementing the mandate with more details to come.
Henderson said it is important to note that this isn’t really a “vaccine mandate” beyond the paperwork. Louisiana is one of 15 states that allow for philosophical exemption from immunization requirements.
“It requires a student to either submit the proof of immunization, a doctor’s note that says the immunization is medically contraindicated, or a written dissent,” said Henderson.
LSU Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Dampf echoed similar concerns for LSU when it came to a future mandate’s lack of teeth in an interview with Jim Engster on Talk Louisiana in July.
Henderson said they can’t force students to take the vaccine but he hopes full FDA approval will push more of them off of the fence. He says they’ve tried to convince students to get the shot.
“Nothing that we can say can equate to the gold standard of pharmaceutical safety and efficacy which is FDA approval,” said Henderson who noted that UL System students who get the shot can receive 100 dollars through the Shot for 100 program.
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