Virginia attorney general opinion: colleges can mandate COVID-19 vaccine
(The Center Square) – Virginia colleges and universities are allowed to require COVID-19 vaccinations for students, according to an official opinion issued by Attorney General Mark Herring.
An opinion by the attorney general is not legally binding. However, providing analysis on legal questions is part of the duty of the office.
In his opinion, Herring said the institutions “may condition in-person attendance on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine during this time of pandemic.” The opinion is meant to provide guidance to public institutions setting policies for student attendance for fall’s academic year.
“We have seen how crucial vaccinations will be for keeping the COVID-19 pandemic under control and putting us on a path towards normalcy,” Herring said in a statement. “Virginia’s college and university students deserve the chance to go to classes in-person and take advantage of all that their schools have to offer, but over the past year we have seen numerous COVID outbreaks on school campuses, so we must make sure that they are doing so with the health and safety of their peers and communities in mind.”
The attorney general noted in his opinion that individual institutions have the legal right to make decisions on promoting the health and safety of students and staff. He said it is up to individual institutions to decide whether the vaccine has a real and substantial relation to the health of their campuses.
In the opinion, Herring said an institution could also mandate a COVID-19 vaccine for access to specific events or in specific settings. He said public institutions should seek to accommodate medical conditions or religious objections to a vaccine.
Herring also said it is within the legal authority for the commissioner of health to mandate all Virginians be vaccinated if he decides to do so. The only exception would be for a health condition for which a person has a note from a licensed physician from the state. Current Commissioner Norman Oliver has signaled support for a vaccine mandate, but Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration has publicly opposed this.
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