Cal State system mandates vaccines for students and staff

MARINA, Calif. (KION) This fall, California State University, one of the largest public systems in the nation, is requiring all students, staff, and faculty to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

"The current surge in COVID cases due to the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant is an alarming new factor that we must consider as we look to maintain the health and well-being of students, employees, and visitors to our campuses this fall," said CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro.

Back in April, the Cal State system, in conjunction with the UC system, announced its intention of mandating vaccines when FDA authorization for COVID-19 vaccines was approved. However, that day hasn't come yet and they needed to act now.

"The beginning of the fall term is rapidly approaching. We have about 14 different campuses that are going to be getting back in less than a month and tying that into the warming increase with the number of COVID cases we're seeing with the Delta variant, the number of hospitalizations is increasing, the number of cases is increasing..." said Michael Uhlenkamp, spokesperson for Cal State Universities.

The deadline to certify to receive your 2-dose or one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine is September 30th. Religious and medical exemptions are allowed. The CSUs will have a system in place where students can certify but proof of vaccination may vary from each university.

"Some campuses might require proof of that vaccination so they would require someone to upload a vaccination card but that's going to be up to the discretion of the campuses to determine," said Uhlenkamp.

Some students from CSUMB are on board with the mandate while others would like the ability to choose.

"I think if more people get vaccinated, we can back to normal," said Andre Ferguson, student-athlete at CSUMB.

"Honestly, I feel like students shouldn't be required to get the vaccine. I feel like people should have the freedom to choose whether or not they want to get the vaccine or not," said Amir Adams, student-athlete at CSUMB.

The universities will be increasing the availability of vaccines on campuses as well as teaming up with local hospitals to provide vaccines.