SAN JOSE, Calif. — College COVID-19 vaccine requirements are facing renewed scrutiny now that California has walked back plans to mandate the shots in K-12 schools and the state and federal governments are ending their pandemic states of emergency.
The University of California recently softened its vaccine booster requirement. But immunization mandates continue at public and private campuses across the country, prompting debate as to whether they’re still worth the trouble. Students say that, in some cases, verification procedures tripped up class registration.
Dr. Arthur Reingold, an epidemiology professor at UC-Berkeley, notes that UC also requires immunizations for measles and chickenpox, and people still are dying from COVID at rates that exceed those for influenza. As of Feb. 1, there were more than 400 COVID deaths a day across the U.S.
