WATERVILLE, Maine — Thomas College is reversing its policy on mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, announcing Wednesday the college will now require all in-person students, staff, and faculty to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus for the upcoming fall semester.
The private college, which is in Waterville, announced in July that there would be no vaccine mandate for students or staff this fall, though college President Laurie Lachance strongly encouraged Thomas community members to get vaccinated. But amid increasing COVID-19 case rates across Maine, Lachance said the college is now mandating the vaccine for all those who will be on campus in person this fall.
“Given that incidence rates have risen dramatically in our region and state and given the deeper understanding that even vaccinated people can get and spread the virus, we simply have no choice but to take the steps to protect the people we care about the most – each individual in our Thomas family,” Lachance said in a statement.
Lachance said the decision was made after consulting with the Maine CDC, MaineGeneral, and the college’s Board of Trustees.
“If we are to end this pandemic, we must do everything in our power to be nimble and make choices that protect each other the best that we can with the information at our disposal,” she said.
Students planning to attend classes on campus as well as all faculty and staff must be partially or fully vaccinated before arriving on campus and no later than August 31, according to the college. Vaccination cards to the college—health center for students and human resources department for staff—to verify their vaccination status.
The college says students who are partially vaccinated when they arrive on campus will be required to wear masks indoors and undergo routine testing until they are fully vaccinated.
Limited vaccination exemptions will be made.
Click here to read more about Thomas College's vaccine policy.
The University of Maine System had said they would be holding off on mandating vaccination until the vaccines were given full U.S. FDA approval, but last week announced the system would not wait for the approval. UMaine System students and staff who plan to attend in-person this fall will now be required to verify their fully vaccinated status by August 20.
Maine colleges requiring the vaccine this fall: