The University of Saskatchewan will be requiring students, faculty and staff to show proof they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, starting this fall.
Proof of a first dose will be required by September 7th, and of a second dose by October 18th. Details on how to provide proof will be announced in the coming days.
USask says anyone who is unable or choosing not to get vaccinated will be required to provide frequent negative COVID-19 tests and submit a daily symptom checklist in order to access USask campuses.
In addition, USask is also requiring vaccinations for people who are participating in higher-risk activities, such as Huskie Athletics, however requests for exemption will be considered. The University is also review reviewing “other areas of programming that carry elevated COVID-19 transmission risks.”
The new vaccination measures for the fall term are based on recommendations by the University’s Pandemic Response and Recovery Team (PRT), in response to the Delta variant and other variants as well as the “stalled and low vaccination rates among those under 30 in Saskatchewan.”
The post-secondary institution also says consultations with other Canadian institutions, USask faculty, and legal and public health experts also contributed to this decision.
“The science is unequivocal and overwhelming: vaccinations are the clearest path to beating COVID-19 and its dangerous variants,” USask President Peter Stoicheff said in a news release. “We are eager to resume as much in-person teaching, learning and research as we possibly can by January. Only widespread vaccination and testing throughout our campuses can make this happen.”
“The health and safety of our campuses is a shared responsibility that requires all members of our university community to do their part,” Stoicheff added. “These new measures are endorsed by the university’s senior leadership and our Board of Governors. I am confident that these new measures will further protect the health and safety of our university community and of communities beyond.”
“All current COVID-19 health and safety measures remain in place including indoor mask requirements, wastewater testing, some continued on-line programming, space reconfigurations in high-traffic areas, and enhanced cleaning. Vaccination clinics will continue to be available on the Saskatoon campus.” USask mentioned in the same news release.
