Carleton University is making its COVID-19 vaccination policy more explicit ahead of the fall term, mandating a full course of vaccines and limiting exceptions for the unvaccinated.
The Ottawa-based post-secondary institution came out with updated guidelines on Tuesday in a letter to students and staff from the university’s COVID-19 lead Suzanne Blanchard.
Where as the university had previously mandated disclosing vaccination status in order to be on campus — with stringent rapid testing requirements to those who did not comply — Carleton will now expect proof of a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 8 and a second dose by Oct. 15.
Receipts or equivalent proof of vaccination needs to be uploaded to an online tool called cuScreen by the dates mentioned.
Exemptions still exist for valid medical conditions or human rights reasons, with individuals expected to comply with regular rapid testing protocols. Tests must be done 72 hours before participating in an on-campus activity.
But those without a valid exemption who refuse to be vaccinated can no longer use rapid testing as a workaround and will be banned from in-person activities at Carleton, Blanchard wrote.
The university is offering vaccination clinics on campus on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through to Oct. 7.