Seaver College, Pepperdine University’s main undergraduate school, will likely require all students, faculty and staff be vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning for the Fall 2021 semester.
“An interdisciplinary committee composed of university leaders, faculty, staff, administrators, physicians, and health professionals has developed a draft vaccination policy,” an update posted to the school’s website said. It went on to say that the draft would make vaccination a requirement, not just a recommendation for coming back to campus.
The update said the mandatory vaccine policy would only go into effect if the COVID-19 vaccine was granted full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and would not apply to the 2021 summer sessions.
“Aligned with the university’s existing immunization policy, the draft COVID-19 vaccination policy includes provisions for religious and medical exemptions,” according to the site.
The update said that a final decision on the school’s vaccination policy had not yet been made, but that the school expected to communicate its formal COVID-19 vaccine policy no later than Friday, May 28.