Carleton University has joined the ranks of the University of Ottawa and a growing number of post-secondary institutions across Ontario in mandating a full course of COVID-19 vaccinations for all staff, students and faculty accessing the campus ahead of the fall term.
The Ottawa-based university will require all individuals to attest to their vaccination status before coming on campus, and those who decline to do so will be subject to a rapid testing protocol and provided with information about booking a shot.
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Vaccinations will be valid after an individual is 14 days removed from their second dose of a vaccine approved by either Health Canada or the World Health Organization.
Exemptions to the vaccine requirement are possible under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
All in-person classes at Carleton will have mask-wearing and physical distancing policies in place this fall, as well as caps of 60 students.
Suzanne Blanchard, Carleton’s COVID-19 lead, wrote in a letter to the university’s community members on Thursday that the looming threat of a fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant spurred the latest decision.
“These measures are critical as we work to create safe spaces for learning and working. Our plans will remain flexible as we assess the ever-changing risks presented by COVID-19 and as public health and government guidance changes over time. It is our shared responsibility to be vaccinated and we encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible,” she wrote.
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Carleton had announced a week earlier that its vaccine requirement would extend only to those living in residence, varsity athletes and those participating in music programs on campus.
But the past few days have seen a wave of universities across the province adopt similar measures following an announcement from the University of Ottawa on Tuesday that it would mandate vaccinations for everyone on campus.
Queen’s University in Kingston, the University of Guelph and the University of Toronto are among those recently announcing vaccine mandates.
