Charlottesville, Virginia – The University of Virginia (UVA) has disenrolled 238 students for their noncompliance with the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
According to a UVA spokesperson, the disenrollment for the fall semester happened after students had received multiple reminders via email, text and phone calls from May 20 to July 1 that they weren’t in compliance with the requirement, reports the Virginian-Pilot.
The students who were disenrolled can reenroll if they comply with UVA’s mandate by August 25 or file for an exemption. They can also enroll for the spring semester if they are vaccinated or are exempt.
The actual number of students who were affected by the disenrollment was much smaller. Only 49 of the 238 were enrolled for fall courses. The rest might not have planned on returning to UVA at all for fall.
Nearly 97% of UVA’s student body is vaccinated, reports CNN. About 1.3% claimed religious or medical exemptions.
UVA’s move comes as Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a plea from a few Indiana University students who wanted the court to prevent the school from mandating COVID-19 vaccines.
Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday that it has granted full approval to Pfizer and BioNTech for their coronavirus vaccine to be given to people age 16 and older, reports CBS News.
Pfizer’s vaccine has been administered to more than 92 million Americans since December, and the shots have been proven to be safe and effective at preventing severe cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations and death.
The full approval by the FDA could make it easier for universities, employers and the military to require vaccination, reports NPR. The approval prompted President Joe Biden to urge American employers to require employees be vaccinated for COVID-19.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are also on the path to receiving full FDA approval.
The change in the vaccine’s approval status could also convince those who were concerned about the shot’s safety to go ahead and get vaccinated.