Momentum continues to grow against the COVID-19 shot mandate as an increasing number of schools across the country have dropped the requirement that students be forced to take the shot before enrolling.
Lucia Sinatra, co-founder of No College Mandates, which describes itself as a “group of concerned parents, doctors, nurses, professors, students, and other college stakeholders working towards the common goal of ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates,” told The Epoch Times that the outspoken voices of parents and students have put the shot mandate on the brink of extinction.
“I believe we are finally witnessing the end of college COVID-19 vaccine mandates,” said Ms. Sinatra.
“Colleges realize that students need to make admission decisions this spring, and more and more students are choosing colleges that no longer have COVID-19 vaccine mandates in place. Colleges know this, and parents and students have been more vocal about their choices than any other time in the last four years,” she continued.
“The pandemic has long been over, so trying to justify keeping these mandates in place gets exponentially more ridiculous by the day,” she added.
On March 5, Harvard University announced on its website that it was ending its COVID-19 requirement, posting: “Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) will no longer require students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We strongly recommend that all members of the Harvard community stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters if eligible.”
The number of schools requiring the shot—as well as the number of Americans who believe it is both safe and effective—has fallen as the past two years have seen it become mired in controversy. More than 80 percent of Americans took the original COVID-19 shots after officials pledged that they would effectively prevent contraction and stop the spread of the disease. However, once it was revealed that the shots didn’t work as promised, interest in the subsequent booster decreased dramatically.
‘Absurd and Irrational’
Some of the remaining schools that continue to mandate the shot have faced increased scrutiny from students and officials.Earlier this month, New Jersey state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, a Republican in the 13th District, called on Rutgers University to be stripped of state funding due to its continued mandate that staff and faculty be forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It is difficult to put into words just how absurd and irrational the vaccination policy is at Rutgers University,” Mr. O’Scanlon said in a statement. “The 2024-2025 semester is just around the corner and the administrators at Rutgers still insist that all students, faculty, and staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine—a policy that has no basis in science whatsoever. In fact, the entire policy is anti-science.
“Until Rutgers lifts the mandate, I’m calling for a cut in funding. And, students who are thinking about going to Rutgers, but are not going due to the vaccine mandate, should be able to apply for school aid to use at whatever institution they want,” he added.
Rutgers stated on its website that the policy has been implemented “to minimize COVID outbreaks” and “to prevent and reduce the risk of COVID transmission.”
New Jersey taxpayers currently pay for nearly one-fifth of Rutgers’s operating costs, deriving 19 percent of its revenue from state appropriations, according to the school.
However, according to Ms. Sinatra, Rutgers and the other few remaining holdouts still requiring the COVID-19 shot will likely fall in line quickly.
“What I hope is that students and families have woken up to how easily and unjustifiably informed consent can be stripped away so they will be ready to use their voices and revolt the next time around,” she said.