At least four Virginia colleges have rescinded their vaccine mandates for employees, obeying a directive from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, even as some K-12 school districts have defied his orders to remove COVID-related mandates.
Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison, Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary announced in the past two days they would no longer require their employees to be vaccinated.
Student vaccine requirements and masking mandates will continue at all four colleges.
The schools’ announcements came the same day Virginia reached a new all-time high for COVID-19 hospitalizations, with an average of 3,871 per day. Cases in the state, which peaked Thursday, have declined in the past five days.
“Effective immediately, there is no longer a requirement for employees to receive vaccination, report their vaccination status or undergo weekly screening testing,” JMU administrators wrote Monday.
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Employees of VCU Health System, which is a separate entity from VCU, must continue to be vaccinated.
The University of Virginia and Virginia State University did not make announcements Tuesday evening, and spokespeople for the colleges did not respond to requests for comment.
Private schools are not affected by the governor’s order. The University of Richmond, Virginia Union University and Randolph-Macon College require vaccines among employees.
On Saturday, as part of nine executive orders and two executive directives, Youngkin announced state employees will no longer be required to be vaccinated or disclose their status as a condition of employment. The directive took effect immediately.
On Monday, JMU announced it had disbanded its employee mandate, and by Tuesday, at least three more colleges followed.
The universities set employee mandates in the fall, following a directive from then-Gov. Ralph Northam. They allowed for exemptions based on religious beliefs and medical conditions. Ninety percent or more of employees at the four schools are already vaccinated.
“We are fortunate that our university community has already achieved a level of immunity that positions us as well as possible to fully maintain operations through the semester,” Virginia Tech president Tim Sands wrote Tuesday.
Youngkin’s directive applies only to state employees, not students. And his order ending mask mandates in schools applies to K-12 education only — not higher education.
VCU, Virginia Tech and William & Mary require boosters among students. JMU does not.
Some of the universities are strengthening their masking capabilities.
William & Mary has ordered 40,000 KN95 masks for students and employees, and VCU will provide KN95 and three-layer cotton masks for free through vending machines on campus. VCU requires masks indoors and at outdoor events attended by more than 500 people.
“Although 40,000 is a large number, given the size of our campus community, I also encourage you to take stock of your personal mask collection,” said Amy Sebring, chief operating officer at William & Mary.
Colleges in Virginia are starting their spring semester on time — classes began at VCU on Tuesday. But not all are meeting in person.
VSU announced it would allow students to stay remote the first two weeks of the year, and John Tyler Community College will keep classes on Zoom until Jan. 29.
The decisions made by these four colleges contrast the moves of several K-12 school districts that opted to defy the governor. The districts, which include Richmond, Henrico and Fairfax, announced they would hold to their mask mandates, even though Youngkin’s order intends to dissolve them. Parents from Chesapeake sued Youngkin on Tuesday in the Supreme Court of Virginia, saying his order violates a Virginia law that instructs schools to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends students wear masks.
State colleges however, appear less likely to court such friction with state government. In the coming weeks, they will find out how much funding they will receive from the state for the next two years.
Some faculty expressed their dismay. Alan Levinovitz, a religion professor at JMU, said he was “absolutely furious” on Twitter and called the decision “absurd.”
Levinovitz said he’d like to see JMU administration express an opinion on the decision.
“I would like to see JMU acknowledge that what they are being forced to do — if that is the case — is not something that they would wish to do,” he told JMU’s student newspaper, The Breeze.
Asked for comment, JMU spokesperson Mary-Hope Vass said the university would continue to do its part in working with elected officials as the transition to Youngkin’s administration continues.
“Senior leaders at James Madison University are still encouraging faculty and staff to get vaccinated,” Vass said.