University System of MD to require COVID-19 vaccine for students, faculty, and staff this fall

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The University System of Maryland is requiring all eligible students, faculty, and staff who will be on Maryland campuses this fall be vaccinated against COVID-19 -- including the campuses of the University of Maryland, Towson University, Coppin State University and Bowie State University.

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USM Chancellor Jay Perman made the announcement Friday. Perman said the decision was made by recommendation of a USM workgroup that included health and emergency management experts and was based off of vaccine and new COVID-19 case data.

Perman said the USM will comply with all federal and state laws granting appropriate exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

"There's no question that from the beginning of this pandemic, the University System's paramount concern has been the safety of our people, our campuses, our communities," Perman said in a statement. "That safety is hard to achieve on a college campus, where risk of transmission is high. Our students learn together, yes. But they also study together, socialize together, eat together, play sports together, and often they live side-by-side."

"Let me be clear: This is what we want," Perman continued. "We want students to have these bonding opportunities. We want them to have a college experience that breeds a sense of belonging. And if that's our goal—to have students (a lot of students) safely back on campus this fall, then we have to do everything we can to protect that safety … the safety of our students; the safety of our faculty and staff; the safety of the communities we share with our neighbors, with whom we've built a relationship of mutual respect and mutual trust. And this health we seek to safeguard includes mental health, which has been significantly challenged this year."

Perman said they'll also require pre-arrival COVID testing for those coming to campus this fall, continued symptom monitoring, mask wearing and other CDC recommendations.

The University System of Maryland includes the following twelve university systems:

Bowie State University

Coppin State University

Frostburg State University

Salisbury University

Towson University

University of Baltimore

University of Maryland, Baltimore

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

University of Maryland Global Campus

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science