UNM to require COVID-19 vaccination

Elise Kaplan, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read

Aug. 3—The University of New Mexico announced Monday that all students, faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of September.

In a campus-wide email, President Garnett Stokes said the incentives UNM had offered to those who got the shot "moved the needle some on vaccinations" but more was needed.

She said nearly 9,000 faculty, staff and students have already confirmed their vaccination status.

"However, it has become all too clear that incentives will not be enough to protect the health and safety of our Lobos," Stokes wrote. "So, we must lean into the groundwork we've already laid in the development of a vaccine requirement and respond today to the current public health landscape."

Stokes said she asked the Board of Regents to endorse the requirement, which would apply to all UNM personnel and students who have access to the facilities, housing, programs, services and activities located on the Main Campus and Academic Health Sciences Campus in Albuquerque and the branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos and Valencia.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the policy during a special meeting held virtually on Thursday.

With the support of the regents, Stokes said in her email, the mandate will go into effect on Aug. 5 and Lobos would need to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30. Those who are not vaccinated may be restricted from accessing some UNM facilities and events, she said. Students and staff can request religious or medical exemptions, but they may be required to undergo additional testing and other safety measures.

In early July, UNM had decided not to mandate vaccinations. Stokes said the decision to change course comes as the delta variant causes virus cases to rise across the country and state.

"Unfortunately, as infections have increased around the state and the nation, our vaccination rate has not kept pace in a manner sufficient to ensure we can protect our community from a similar outbreak," Stokes said, adding that the decision was not made lightly. "In short, with cases of COVID and its variants slowly increasing, if we wish to return to a fully operational campus in a manner that protects the safety of our community, encouraging vaccination and mask-wearing is not enough."