*Published on August 2, 2021*
Dear Northeastern Faculty and Staff, On April 6th, Northeastern became one of the nation’s first universities to require that all students be vaccinated before returning to campus for the fall term. Similarly, to further promote the health and wellbeing of the university community, the university encouraged all faculty and staff to get vaccinated as soon as they became eligible. According to our survey of vaccine status with an 80 percent response rate, 97 percent of faculty and staff report that they are fully vaccinated or will be by September 2021. Thank you to all those who responded to this important survey. While this level of reported vaccine adherence is strong, we are still left with a significant number of individuals whose status is unknown. This concern is compounded by the emergence of the Delta variant and the recent rise in COVID cases, prompting the university to consider additional ways to support the health and wellness of all members of the university community.
As a result, today we are announcing that all U.S.-based Northeastern faculty and staff are required to submit verification of vaccination no later than September 8th, 2021. Faculty and staff can upload vaccine immunization documentation through the Vaccine Verification form at vaccine.northeastern.edu. Faculty and staff will be able to submit requests for exemptions to the vaccine requirement for medical reasons or where someone expresses a sincerely held religious belief. We want to underscore that completing the vaccination verification process is required and the university will take all steps necessary to ensure full compliance with this policy. The university’s management of the pandemic over the last 18 months has consistently been ahead of the curve and has allowed Northeastern to maintain safe, effective operational continuity without interrupting students’ academic progress or our research growth. Achieving a 100 percent vaccination rate among our community will allow all of us to continue to achieve these goals and will further safeguard our community. Northeastern will continue to respond nimbly to changing facts on the ground and monitor any new guidance from local, state, and public health authorities that may require changes to the university’s health and safety protocols. More details will be available in our forthcoming Vaccination FAQs. Thank you for your adherence to this important policy and for everything you have done and will continue to do in the weeks ahead to “Protect the Pack.” Sincerely,
Ken Henderson Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning