Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Allows Indiana University Vaccine Mandate To Stand
AP: Supreme Court Justice Won't Block College Vaccine Mandate
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday refused to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Barrett’s action came in response to an emergency request from eight students, and it marked the first time the high court has weighed in on a vaccine mandate. Some corporations, states and cities have adopted vaccine requirements for workers or even to dine indoors, and others are considering doing so. (8/12)
USA Today: SCOTUS Declines Indiana University Vaccine Challenge
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate at Indiana University, clearing the way for school officials to require students and faculty members to be vaccinated. Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a request from Indiana University students for emergency relief. The case is the first challenge to a vaccine mandate during the coronavirus pandemic. (Phillips and Fritze, 8/12)
In related news about colleges and universities —
Fox 29 News Philadelphia: Philadelphia To Announce Proof Of Vaccine Mandate For College Students, Healthcare Workers
Philadelphia officials on Friday are expected to announce that college students and healthcare workers will need to show proof of vaccination by mid-October or be subjected to weekly testing and a double mask mandate. In a virtual meeting on Thursday night, the Philadelphia Department of Health said it wants vaccination rates among college students and healthcare workers as high as 90%. (Keeley, 8/13)
The Atlantic: Why Won't Penn State Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines?
It’s a patchwork system. Unvaccinated students living on campus will be tested before being permitted to move into the dorms next week and will be subjected to weekly COVID-19 testing thereafter. All unvaccinated students (on campus and off) will undergo “regular testing throughout the fall semester,” though the school has provided scant specifics on that process. Penn State’s main campus, in University Park, Pennsylvania, in the borough of State College, enrolls 46,000 undergrad and graduate students. But only 14,500 of them actually live on campus. The remaining 34,500 are largely left to their own devices when it comes to navigating COVID-19. Even if the university were to require all on-campus residents to get vaccinated, it currently lacks a mechanism to keep unvaccinated off-campus students from coming to class and infecting their peers.(Kellermann, 8/12)
WTVF Nashville: MTSU Student Sues University Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
A Middle Tennessee State University student has sued the school and the director of her department after the nursing program required students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Nursing student Avery Garfield filed her lawsuit in the Rutherford County Chancery Court in early August. Originally, the nursing department had asked all students to receive the vaccine by Aug. 20. (West, 8/12)
The New York Times: Campuses Are Virus Incubators, But These Colleges Can’t Require Vaccines
The University of Texas at Austin, which has urged students to get vaccines, announced that students living in its residence halls must show proof of a negative coronavirus test before getting keys to their rooms. Arriving on campus with no place to live could be a strong incentive to be vaccinated. Ms. Muñoz, a vice president of the university’s Senate college councils who is vaccinated, says that student leaders are demanding more protection. “We’re going to be advocating for the lives of the 50,000 students on campus to be kept as safe as possible,” she said, describing a “scary feeling” on the campus. (Saul, 8/12)
