It has been reported that Virginia’s public colleges and universities cannot require students to get a coronavirus vaccine to enroll or attend in-person classes, the state’s new attorney general found in his first opinion since taking office this month.
Jason Miyares, a Republican, concluded that the schools don’t have the authority to issue coronavirus vaccine mandates, in the most recent move by the state’s new GOP leadership to challenge coronavirus mandates.
Miyares found that state lawmakers could pass legislation allowing public colleges and universities to take such a step, but that has not happened. State law specifically requires college students to be vaccinated for measles, tetanus and four other diseases to enroll, but covid-19 is not among them.
“The General Assembly, and the General Assembly only, has the power to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine as an enrollment or in-person attendance requirement,” Miyares said Friday in a statement. “While I encourage everyone to get the vaccine and believe it is a vital tool in our fight against COVID-19, Virginia public universities currently do not have the power to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine on students.”
A number of major public universities and colleges require students to have the coronavirus vaccination, including the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, James Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Norfolk State, the College of William & Mary and the University of Mary Washington.
A spokesperson for U-Va. said Friday that officials are analyzing the opinion and plan to share more information when their review is finished. Other schools did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U-Va. announced in mid-September that more than 97 percent of students had confirmed they were vaccinated against the coronavirus.
