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Virginia AG says colleges can impose vaccine requirement

Herring said colleges and universities in Virginia can require students to get the COVID-19 vaccine before being allowed to attend in-person classes and activities.
Credit: Gargola87 on Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons
The Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, designed by Thomas Jefferson

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s attorney general says the state’s colleges and universities can require students to get the COVID-19 vaccine before being allowed to attend in-person classes and activities.

Attorney General Mark Herring released an advisory opinion Monday in response to a request from Democratic Del. Mark Keam of Fairfax County. 

Herring noted that there is no federal law prohibiting Virginia colleges and universities from imposing a vaccine requirement. 

He also said the boards of visitors of Virginia’s higher education institutions have been granted broad authority by the General Assembly to implement policies and regulations to protect the safety and welfare of students.

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