Following Ohio University President Hugh Sherman’s announcement that all students, faculty and staff are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 15, students have mixed opinions.
Sherman’s announcement came after a spike of COVID-19 cases in Athens County. Other public and private universities throughout the state have also implemented vaccine mandates. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine to receive full FDA approval, according to a previous Post report.
Zoe-Hanna Rawlins, a freshman studying pre-nursing, said the vaccine mandate is what OU needs to maintain a sense of normalcy on campus.
“We’ve had vaccines growing up that were mandated, and it has helped with a lot of sicknesses and controlling those sicknesses,” Rawlins said. “I feel like people need to understand that coronavirus is something that’s not going to go away… but it’s something that definitely can be controlled. It’s not something that we should be divided on but something that we should take unity in.”
Ashleigh Harrison, a freshman studying integrated language arts, agreed with Rawlins and said the mandate is a good thing that will allow students to stay on campus.
However, Logan Lehman, a junior studying integrated social studies, is hesitant about the mandate.
“The fact that they (the university) want everyone to get it by the end of the semester, personally, I’m not loving it,” Lehman said. “I personally think that everyone should be able to do as they wish.”
Hadass Galili, a junior studying political science pre-law, said many of those in disagreement with the mandate are concerned about bodily autonomy.
“The truth is that we have to give up some of that autonomy in the first place to go anywhere,” Galili said. “We need to get our hepatitis vaccines and meningitis and stuff like that.”
Galili said she is trying to remain positive and said the requirement is for “everyone’s health and safety.”
“I feel like a lot more people will not be infected with coronavirus– not that it will go away because, of course, people with vaccines can still get coronavirus,” Rawlins said. “I feel like it will definitely help decrease the number of people on campus right now who already have it and are being quarantined and missing class.”
Harrison is also hopeful for spring semester and thinks there will be fewer COVID-19 cases because of the requirement. Lehman, however, said the vaccine won’t guarantee a normal year.
“I really want to be positive and hopeful. It will mean that we can go back to fully in-person classes,” Galili said. “I really hope that I don’t have to wear a mask in class… and just, in general, go back to how it was pre-2020.”
