COVID-19: University of Guelph mandates vaccines for everyone on campus

The University of Guelph is joining several other post-secondary institutions in mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for everyone on campus.

The mandate will be in place for the 2021-22 school year and includes faculty, staff and students at its main campus along with its Ridgetown campus in Chatham-Kent and indoors at all U of G field stations.

“We know that being fully vaccinated significantly reduces the risks of the most serious outcomes of COVID-19,” said president and vice-chancellor Charlotte Yates in a statement on Wednesday.

“The health and safety of the university community continue to guide our decisions. In preparation for the fall, we have been working diligently to ensure that campus facilities and practices meet all public health guidelines.”

The university had previously mandated vaccines for students living in residence and its varsity athletes.

But there has been a growing number of calls for the school to mandate vaccines across the board and an online petition demanding just that had 1,400 signatures as of noon Wednesday.

Yates said the decision was made by its executive team with strong support from local public health units in Guelph and Chatham-Kent.

“As you can imagine, operationalizing this vaccination mandate at the university will require widespread institutional consultation and action,” she said.

“We will be engaging the senate, the board of governors and other groups at the university as we develop the details of this plan.”

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The university plans to give faculty, staff and students access to vaccinations through Student Health Services and several pop-up clinics are also being planned for the fall.

Yates did note that individuals who cannot be vaccinated based on medical or other grounds recognized by the Ontario Human Rights Code can request an accommodation.

The University of Guelph joins the University of Ottawa and Seneca College in mandating vaccinations for everyone on campus. The University of Waterloo requires all unvaccinated community members to undergo regular rapid testing and produce a negative result to be on campus.