Students at Harvard University will continue to be required to take the COVID-19 vaccine in order to register for the upcoming semester, the school has recently announced, joining 69 other schools around the country that still require the shot.
“Harvard requires all students who will be on campus to have some protection from COVID-19 through vaccination,” reads a statement posted by the school. “This may be through the initial primary series of COVID-19 vaccination or one of the most recent COVID-19 boosters.”
Students who fail to show approved documentation will be unable to sign up for classes, with the website warning that should they “fall out of compliance at any time for any of the required immunizations, registration holds will be automatically applied.”
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, a practitioner in Texas and founder of Coalition of Health Freedom, told The Epoch Times that the COVID-19 vaccine is ineffective, but mandating medical procedures violates the student’s constitutionally protected rights.
“I am deeply concerned that a university once considered the best in the nation has adopted a policy that completely disregards the data showing the COVID shots do not prevent transmission,” said Dr. Bowden.
“Further, mandating the COVID shots violates human rights and discriminates against its students by setting rules that only apply to them, but not the entire campus.“
While students are required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, it is recommended but not mandated for the school’s faculty members or staff, according to Harvard University Health Services (HUHS).
“HUHS no longer requires employees to submit COVID-19 vaccine documentation,” the website states. “As we work to continue the high levels of vaccination needed to protect our community, Harvard highly recommends being up-to-date per the CDC definition for all Harvard community members, including faculty, students, staff, and researchers, who will have any on-campus presence.”
Government officials began pressuring schools to push students to get the vaccine almost immediately after it hit the market.
