Higher ed’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements are excessive and unwarranted
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CounterCurrent:
To Mandate or Not to Mandate—The NAS Weighs In
Higher ed’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements are excessive and unwarranted
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, bringing you the biggest issues in academia and our responses to them.
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Category: COVID-19; Reading Time: ~2 minutes
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** Featured Article - NAS Statement on the Response to COVID-19 in Higher Education ([link removed])
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If you’re in academia like me, you’ve probably been shocked anew at how quickly a semester can fly by. The prevailing sentiment on my campus seems to be, “Wait … December already?”—I can imagine that yours feels the same way. But before we head home for holiday festivities, we ought to pause and consider a far less cheerful topic: COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
A few short months ago, I wrote to you ([link removed]) on this subject, taking stock of the various strategies American colleges and universities employed with regard to coronavirus vaccination requirements. I identified three main approaches: “Full Speed Ahead,” “Not So Fast,” and “Back to Zoom We Go.”
Full-Speed-Ahead schools announced COVID-19 vaccine mandates before the fall semester even began. The three most notable examples were the University of California ([link removed]) , California State University ([link removed]) , and State University of New York ([link removed]) systems, which together enroll well over a million students. But these schools were far from alone—as of a few days ago, the Chronicle of Higher Education counts ([link removed]) more than 1,100 colleges and universities that require coronavirus vaccinations for at least some students or employees. Over 900 of these requirements went into effect before September.
Meanwhile, Not-So-Fast schools have taken a more cautious approach. Some institutions encouraged vaccination but ultimately gave students, faculty, and staff the freedom to decide for themselves. Others were forced into this option by their state governments, such as the University of Texas ([link removed]) , which was disallowed from requiring the vaccine due to an Executive Order issued by Governor Greg Abbott. A few schools, including Rice University, chose to start the semester online ([link removed]) and delay in-person instruction for several weeks in an attempt to avoid early outbreaks (Rice has since returned to in-person instruction and has issued a vaccine mandate).
As we prepare for the spring semester, it seems that COVID vaccine mandates are here to stay. The potential rise of the Omicron variant only makes this more likely. That’s why the National Association of Scholars felt compelled to issue an official statement ([link removed]) on the matter, which we hope clarifies our position and points a way forward for institutions willing to listen. We are, of course, not a medical authority. But we are able to read and understand published studies, as well as consider how they ought to inform higher ed policy.
The core of our statement is quite simple:
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) does not oppose voluntary vaccination. We strongly encourage individuals in high-risk categories to get vaccinated. Yet we draw a sharp distinction between voluntary vaccination and mandated vaccination. NAS opposes both institutional and governmental COVID-19 vaccine mandates. They are a disproportionate response to the COVID-19 pandemic and they abrogate Americans’ liberties.
Now before you reach for the pitchfork, let’s focus on a keyword here: disproportionate. The NAS fully recognizes that the pandemic has led to a tragic loss of life both domestically and abroad, particularly among the elderly. But we also believe that COVID-19 vaccine mandates are both excessive and unwarranted within higher education specifically.
It is an excessive step because college and university student populations contain very few people who are at high risk of mortality or other extreme consequences of COVID-19 infection. It is an unwarranted step because those who are at risk can be and in most cases already have been vaccinated or have developed natural immunity.
We encourage American colleges and universities that have voluntarily mandated the coronavirus vaccine to reconsider their decision. We also call for a rescission of such requirements at every level of government. As the statement reads,
Public health officials and the medical community should adopt a full-spectrum approach to fighting COVID-19. They should encourage Americans to use a combination of preventive care, drugs, and vaccines, by means of rational and respective persuasion which respects Americans’ freedom to choose their own medical treatments and assess their own risks. They should not call for vaccine mandates—and neither should any component of the American government, or any institution of higher education.
The current mandates are concerning enough, but we are also wary of what academic leaders will do with their newfound powers. Some schools, for instance, are already mandating the flu shot ([link removed]) . It is high time for government and higher education to return this important medical decision to its rightful place: into the hands of each and every American citizen, not into their arms by force.
To read and share our full statement, click here ([link removed]) .
Until next week.
David Acevedo
Communications & Research Associate
National Association of Scholars
Read More ([link removed])
For more on COVID-19 and American higher education:
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November 30, 2020
** University Administrators’ Pandemic Power Grab ([link removed])
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Neetu Arnold
Universities are taking advantage of the pandemic to "hollow out the middle," that is, to defenestrate full-time and tenured faculty from their positions of influence in the university.
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July 07, 2020
** Curing Higher Ed in the Wake of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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Adam Ellwanger
The current model of higher education is utterly dysfunctional. COVID-19 has given us an unprecedented opportunity to make it work again.
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May 22, 2020
** The Failure of the New Class under the Test of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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Alexander Riley
When the SARS-CoV-2 virus first appeared, many experts understated the threat. Now more than two months into the pandemic these same experts have coalesced around the most hyperbolic disease modeling.
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April 18, 2020
** Critical Care ([link removed])
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NAS
This report is a plan to guide the federal response to these unprecedented disruptions facing higher education in the midst of the pandemic.
** About the NAS
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The National Association of Scholars, founded in 1987, emboldens reasoned scholarship and propels civil debate. We’re the leading organization of scholars and citizens committed to higher education as the catalyst of American freedom.
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