PLU COVID-19 Vaccine Policy for Students

PLU COVID-19 Vaccine Policy for Students

A key component to opening safely and returning to in-person campus activities, consistent with public-health guidelines, is the requirement that all PLU students—undergraduate and graduate—be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and report it to the Health Center prior to arriving on campus in the fall.*

Students should plan to complete their vaccine series two weeks prior to accessing campus. This will allow them sufficient time to reach fully vaccinated status. Find COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Washington State here.

Additionally, all students must comply with PLU’s current mitigation protocols, including intermittent proactive community testing for all students.

Mitigation protocols are based on current public-health guidance for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals and may change, pending updates by the CDC and the Washington State Department of Health. We will continue to follow local, state, and national health directives, and reserve the right to change this directive if circumstances change.

Exemptions
As with other immunizations, students with documented medical or religious/right of conscience exemptions will be accommodated and not required to receive the vaccine. Medical exemptions are based on CDC contraindications for the vaccine  and must be discussed with and signed off by a healthcare provider. Exemption forms may be found on the PLU Counseling, Health and Wellness Services Documents and Forms webpage.

Given unknown vaccine requirements of foreign jurisdictions, exemptions may not be possible for participation in Study Away programs. 

Allowances for students who cannot locate a vaccine appointment
Our current plan is to accept FDA- and World Health Organization (WHO)-authorized vaccines. (Currently, these include the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that are being distributed in the U.S., as well as the AstraZeneca-SK Bio and the Serum Institute of India vaccines.)

This policy allows a grace period for individuals who were unable to access an FDA-authorized vaccine prior to coming to campus. Those students—we anticipate primarily international students—will have seven days upon arrival to campus to begin their vaccine series. Vaccination must be completed with the medically recommended interval to remain compliant with the policy.

Exempt and partially vaccinated students
Exempt students and students waiting to complete their vaccine series must comply with additional mitigation protocols, including:

• Wearing a mask in most indoor and some outdoor settings
• Following the CDC and Washington State recommendations to quarantine if exposed to a positive case
• Quarantining and testing prior to and upon return from travel out of state 

The university will continue to review CDC, Washington State, Northwest Conference, and NCAA guidance to determine policy and procedures for participation in other university activities.

Students in the process of completing their vaccine series are allowed to reside in residence halls, attend classes, and engage in other activities while following the university guidelines for mitigation strategies in place at that time.

Students with COVID-19-like symptoms
Any student who develops illness symptoms consistent with COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must contact the Health Center or their healthcare provider for evaluation and possible COVID-19 testing. If they seek care from a non-PLU healthcare provider, the student must additionally inform the Health Center of the results of that evaluation, including COVID-19 test results.

*The exception to this is the fully online Master of Science in Marketing Analytics. There is no vaccination requirement for this program.

Updated: May 14, 2021