UW-Madison: Don’t ask about vaccinations

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin-Madison is telling students and faculty members not to ask people if they are vaccinated.

The university on Friday announced it will end its mask requirement on campus.

“Fully vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear face coverings in most indoor spaces on the UW-Madison campus.” the university said in its statement. “Unvaccinated people should continue to wear face coverings indoors. … Masks are not required in outdoor settings; however, those who are not vaccinated are encouraged to wear them when physical distancing is not possible.”

The university however said it will not check to see if people are vaccinated. And UW-Madison was emphatic in saying no one should ask about vaccinations either.

The first two questions of the university’s mask rule Q&A both spelled out that it is inappropriate for faculty and students to ask maskless people on campus if they have gotten their coronavirus shot.

“Employees may not ask colleagues if they have been vaccinated. However, employees may voluntarily share if they’ve been vaccinated,” the university said in its Q&A. “It is not appropriate to ask whether someone is vaccinated or why they are/are not wearing a mask.”

UW-Madison’s new policy says clinical settings on campus can continue to require masks, but individual professors cannot require them in their classes. The updated policy also doesn’t change the school’s six-foot indoor social distancing requirement. The school says anyone who violates the new policy can be turned in.

One question asked how to handle an unvaccinated student who is openly defiant, and refuses to wear a mask.

“Remind the student of the mask expectation for the unvaccinated, encourage vaccination to protect themselves, and if the student continues to not comply, contact the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards,” the university answered.

The school says defiant university employees can be turned-in to human resources.

UW-Madison’s updated policy comes as Madison and Dane County’s public health orders, which required masks and social distancing, come to an end on Tuesday. And it comes as lawmakers consider a proposal to ban required vaccines and required testing at the school.

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