Duquesne to require covid-19 vaccines for students this fall, but Western Pa. colleges' requirements vary

Jun. 3—Duquesne University on Thursday joined a group of Western Pennsylvania colleges that will require covid-19 vaccines for all students returning to campus this fall, but policies remain varied depending on the university.

The American College Health Association, which represents health and wellness professionals at 550 U.S. colleges and universities, recommends that residential colleges and universities offering face-to-face instruction this fall adopt such requirements wherever possible. To date, however, only about 460 schools have done so.

Locally, Carnegie Mellon and Chatham already had announced they will require covid vaccines for all returning students this fall. Carlow, another private university located in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, is strongly recommending them for all students but requiring them only for athletes and residential students.

"Pre-matriculation vaccination requirements for students attending (colleges) in the United States are not new and are time-tested," the American College Health Association wrote, adding that most campuses have required students be vaccinated for communicable illnesses such as measles, mumps and rubella for decades.

Even so, the covid-19 vaccine has been a touchy subject for colleges thrust into the middle of the highly politicized debate on whether to vaccinate or require proof of vaccination.

Penn State, with branch campuses across the state as well as its University Park campus, is going with incentives. The university announced this week that it will hold weekly drawings June 7-Aug. 23 for all students and staff who can provide proof of vaccination.

There's no free Budweiser or full ride tuition in this lottery. Instead, each week the university will give away six prizes including $1,000, four $100 Barnes & Noble gift cards and a football signed by coach James Franklin.

Saint Vincent College, located just outside of Latrobe, is strongly recommending the vaccine and offering students who have had it a return to normal campus life, even as masking and social distancing requirements remain in place for those who have not been vaccinated.

Schools like Indiana, California, Slippery Rock, Clarion and Edinboro, which are among the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education that enroll about 95,000 students statewide, are governed by laws with regard to vaccines. State law only permits the schools to mandate the meningitis vaccine. System spokesman David Pidgeon said it would require an act of the legislature to permit the PASSHE schools to require the covid vaccine.

"And so far, I'm aware of no bills like that pending in the legislature," he said.

The Pennsylvania universities aren't the only ones constrained by state law. Inside Higher Ed recently reported that several states — including Texas, Florida and Arizona — have taken executive or legislative action to prevent universities and other state-owned institutions in their states from requiring proof of vaccination.

In Western Pennsylvania, officials at the University of Pittsburgh, Seton Hill and Point Park are still weighing the issue. Seton Hill spokeswoman Jennifer Reeger said the Greensburg-based university plans to issue a policy by the end of June.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .