Oakland University becomes first Michigan college to mandate vaccination

All students living on campus at Oakland University in Rochester in the fall will be required to have received a full complement of COVID-19 vaccinations to attend school. That is sure to raise a host of questions that will be settled in a court of law.

Dan Hurley, Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Association of State Universities, says, “At this point I am not aware of any other universities making the COVID vaccination a requirement. Each university is making its decision based on a variety of factors and circumstances unique to that institution.”

It will stand as a test case that could potentially have significant ramifications for schools like the University of Michigan, which currently requires that all students get regular testing. At Michigan Tech, the school has occasionally restricted access to online resources, such as Banweb, if pupils do not submit their COVID symptom tracker self-assessments. Neither Michigan Tech or Finlandia have made public statements about vaccines being a requirement.

College students, traditionally younger, do not fall into an at-risk cohort from COVID-19. If symptoms present, they tend to be mild. By contrast, they suffer the most from vaccine side effects.