All students at the University of Notre Dame will have a COVID vaccine booster mandate imposed on them for the 2023-24 school year.
Notre Dame’s University Health Services announced Tuesday that it was imposing the mandate on all students for the next school year. In order to attend classes on campus, and even remotely, next year, students must receive a booster of the COVID vaccine. Conservatives blasted the university for imposing the policy on students.
Mary Frances Myler, a postgraduate fellow at Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, shared a screenshot of the email on Twitter. “As of today, Notre Dame will require yet ANOTHER round of the vaccine for students,” Myler wrote. “The pandemic ended, but the Covid Regime remains fully intact and detached from reality.”
As of today, Notre Dame will require yet ANOTHER round of the vaccine for students. The pandemic ended, but the Covid Regime remains fully intact and detached from reality. pic.twitter.com/iyjlgsqwdz
— Mary Frances Myler (@mfmyler) November 15, 2022
In the email itself, University Health Services Director Edward P. Junkins touted the University’s low rate of COVID cases and attributed it to the school’s vaccination rate. “In an effort to continue this trend and prevent serious illness related to coronavirus, I write today to inform you that the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine is required of all students — undergraduate, graduate, and professional, including students studying or performing research remotely and/or virtually — to enroll in classes for the 2023-24 academic year,” Junkins stated.
The email encouraged students to receive the booster either before traveling or during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, or at a University vaccination clinic once students return in January. Once they have received their booster, they must upload documentation to the university system. Students can also receive exemptions, but must apply for one unless they have an existing exemption.
“As with all required University vaccines, if you fail to complete this requirement or are not granted an exemption, a hold will be placed on your student account, which will prevent you from registering for classes for the fall 2023 semester,” the email stated. “All current students have until Wednesday, March 1, 2023 to fulfill the bivalent booster vaccine requirement for the 2023-24 academic year.”
The Observer, an independent newspaper covering Notre Dame and her sister colleges, also reported on the email.
The University’s vaccine mandate comes even as leading experts have shown a high risk of adverse effects. In October, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that the state recommends against giving mRNA COVID vaccines to adult men ages 18 to 39 because of a heightened risk of cardiac-related death, as The Daily Wire reported. In addition, a study from the American College of Cardiology showed that adults, both male and female, experienced higher rates of myocarditis and pericarditis from the Moderna vaccine.
Conservatives blasted the University in response to the news.
“Notre Dame requiring bivalent covid booster for all students… including remote students,” conservative commentator Liz Wheeler wrote on Twitter. “Good Lord, don’t waste your money sending your child to an anti-science institution.”
“The fact that it’s a Catholic school makes this absurd requirement even worse, I say this as a Catholic…” Christina Pushaw, Rapid Response director for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, replied to Myler’s tweet.
“You have to wonder what exactly it is they’re teaching at ND for 58k a year, because clearly it isn’t science,” digital strategist Tamlyn Sheng tweeted.
“Do you realize now that none of this will eventually ‘run out of steam’?” venture capitalist Rick DeVos commented.
“Absurd,” Republican Texas Congressman Chip Roy wrote.
“Insane. These poor students,” podcast host Megyn Kelly tweeted.
“So much science,” Maryland state delegate Matt Morgan mocked.
