The University of Pennsylvania will require faculty, staff and post-doctoral trainees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the start of the fall semester.
Penn previously announced that all students will be required to receive the vaccine as the university plans for a return to in-person learning. Penn said it will permit medical and religious exemptions.
University administrators wrote in an email to faculty, staff and postdocs on Tuesday that all employees must be fully vaccinated by Aug. 1. Employees may begin to submit their vaccination information within the next two weeks; the information will be kept confidential and secure, the university said.
Beginning on July 1, vaccinated individuals will be exempt from regular COVID-19 screening testing and use of the university's daily symptom checker, which were required during the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters.
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The university also announced plans to return to 100% capacity in classrooms, labs and other spaces in accordance with the City of Philadelphia's guidelines. Penn previously stated that college houses and dining halls will also return to full capacity.
"Vaccinated individuals should expect to return to pre-pandemic conditions while on campus," the email read.
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As of June, no other universities in the Philadelphia area have said that they will require both students and faculty to be vaccinated. The College of New Jersey and Mercyhurst University in Erie are among the few schools that will, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Penn is the largest private employer in Philadelphia with 18,000 faculty and staff. Penn Medicine, the region’s largest health system, will also require all employees and clinical staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1.
"For more than a year, we have all worked tirelessly to fulfill our mission of delivering exceptional education and research, while keeping the Penn community and those around us safe from illness," read the email from three Penn administrators. "Getting vaccinated and recording your vaccination status are the next and most critical steps in our collective efforts to end this crisis and return to normalcy."
