Nearly a year after the pandemic was officially declared over by Congress, 48 colleges across the United States are still clinging to the draconian measure of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for admission. Lawmakers and experts are right to criticize this stubborn clinging to outdated mandates as they reek of discrimination, overreach, and a disturbing departure from scientific rationale.
Among these institutions, mostly private colleges with a few notable exceptions like Johns Hopkins University, there’s a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the shifting sands of the COVID-19 narrative. Even as Harvard University and others sensibly back away from their mandates, following the CDC’s relaxed guidelines, this group of schools is persistent in their control of their students’ medical decisions.
The audacity of this stance can’t be overstated. With the CDC itself admitting that the vaccinated can still contract and spread COVID-19, and studies highlighting natural immunity’s robust defense, the scientific basis for such mandates crumbles. Yet, we are witnessing an alarming trend where mandates continue, even as concerns over vaccine side effects like myocarditis in young adults and other potential risks loom large.
With over 1.5 million adverse events linked to the COVID-19 vaccine reported in the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System—a figure that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg—the rationale behind these mandates becomes even more suspect. Beyond the direct health implications, the persistence of these mandates poses a significant barrier to education, particularly for students seeking affordable, in-state tuition options. Why erect additional hurdles based on a contentious vaccine for a virus that poses minimal risk to the college-age cohort?
Moreover, the maintenance of these mandates signals a deeper, more insidious issue: the surrender of university administrations to far-left ideologies, sacrificing intellectual rigor at the altar of political gestures. Such mandates reflect a campus culture dominated by an authoritarian bent on controlling thought and behavior, which should give any prospective student pause.
The ongoing saga of COVID-19 vaccine mandates isn’t just a public health issue; it’s a litmus test for academic freedom, scientific integrity, and the very principles that should underpin our educational institutions. The sooner we see the end of this misguided policy, the better for the integrity of American education and the liberties of its students.
