Morgan State University To Require COVID Vaccinations For All Faculty, Staff And Students Returning To Campus
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Morgan State President says students are on the clock. Ages 16 and up can get vaccinated now and he expects everyone on campus to be ready this Fall.
University Systems announced all twelve of their schools including Morgan State and Towson would have a vaccine mandate this Fall.
This is just a day after consulting with medical experts who say 40 percent of patients are under 40 years old.
Kye Toussaint, a Junior at Morgan State spoke with WJZ.
"I think it's better for campus and campus life because as you can see, it's a ghost town over here," he says. "People want to come back to campus for that campus life."
Diarrah Ballo is a Sophomore at Morgan State.
"I feel like if they need to take the precautions to make sure everything is alright, then they need to take those precautions," she says.
More than half of adults across Maryland have been vaccinated. School President David Wilson says 200 Moderna vaccines will be available to students in congregated living April 28th.
David Wilson is the President at Morgan State University.
"We are doing this for one reason and one reason only. That is to enhance the level of safety on campus for everyone," he tells WJZ.
Wilson says June 1st when MSU will be in a position to let their community know exactly how this will be managed. A difference of opinion at Towson came from Shania Foster, a Senior at Towson.
"Vaccinations for students are important if we want to open up over time but I do think it's a breach on freedom because what if people don't want to be vaccinated."
Wilson says there will be exemptions for students based on religious beliefs and medical reasons.
In a statement from MSU:
"Last night, Morgan President David Wilson held a special campus-wide town hall meeting where among other important matters he discussed the University's decision to require all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the start of the fall semester. An official communication regarding the measure will be released later this morning."
Morgan State is partnering with the Maryland Health Department to host a three-day vaccination clinic starting on April 30. They will be able to deliver about 390 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The University of Maryland also announced Friday morning it would require its community to be vaccinated before returning to campus.
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