Dear President Wilson,
As we write this, most on-campus activity at Wayne State is suspended due to the latest COVID-19 surge in Michigan. Many members of the campus and Midtown communities remain at grave risk from the virus. The pandemic will surely remain an important threat when the Fall semester begins in little more than 4 1/2 months. Furthermore, we anticipate that certain COVID vaccines will gain full FDA approval (not, as they currently bear, Emergency Use Authorization status) before the beginning of the Fall semester.
We, the undersigned members of the Wayne State community, therefore urge that you institute a COVID vaccine mandate for faculty, students, and staff participating in all on-campus activities for the Fall semester, provided the FDA gives full approval for one or more COVID vaccines.
In the absence of herd immunity, each unvaccinated person on campus imposes a risk to life and health for everyone else, including vaccinated persons. Clusters of cases on campus disrupt campus operations. A vaccination mandate would nearly eliminate these risks, increasing the perception of safety on campus and attracting students who would otherwise be hesitant to put themselves at risk. It would signal to all that Wayne State is a science-driven institution where Warriors recognize that vaccination is our civic duty.
We acknowledge that some members of our community may, for various reasons, prefer or need to remain unvaccinated, and that other members have benefited from the transition to online studying, teaching, and working at Wayne State. Inclusiveness requires their opportunity to continue their education and employment at Wayne State through online means.
This proposed policy is not something new or novel. We ban smoking and we currently require flu vaccines for those on-campus at Wayne State. For our safety, we ask that you now also mandate vaccination against COVID-19.
The faculty of the Department of Economics supports a University vaccine mandate as explained in the petition.
Thank you for your attention,
Undersigned
(The full list of signatories can be found at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Mku8UP_-FS5T0nZvrRqNlwjxXLxd5DqTOSsdz3FLDMY)
