Updated at 1:37 p.m.

The University of Vermont will require all of its students to be vaccinated this fall, pending full approval of the vaccines from the federal Food and Drug Administration.

All full- and part-time students — “undergraduate, graduate, medical, and continuing and distance education students” — must be fully vaccinated and have proof of it, UVM announced on Wednesday. The school will also “continue to encourage faculty and staff members to get vaccinated,” the statement said.

“A fully vaccinated student population on our campus is the best way to protect the health of students, employees, and the broader Burlington community against COVID-19 infection,” UVM wrote in a list of reasons supporting its policy. “This public health approach is consistent with longstanding efforts across the United States to protect students of all ages from a wide range of serious and contagious diseases.”
Last fall, UVM enrolled a total of nearly 13,300 students, a spokesperson said.


Both Pfizer and Moderna have applied for full FDA approval for their two-dose vaccinations, though Pfizer started the process earlier, in the beginning of May. It’s unclear how long the full approval will take, though it is generally many months.

Other Vermont schools of higher education, including Middlebury College, Saint Michael’s College and Champlain College, have announced similar requirements for student vaccinations. Norwich University has said that it will reopen with the “expectation” that all students, faculty and staff be vaccinated no later than August 1.