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CHICAGO - Northwestern is the latest Chicago area university to announce it will require students to be fully vaccinated before returning to campus this fall, the school said.
In an email sent to students on Wednesday, the school says any student who has not been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will not be allowed to register for in-person classes in the fall.
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"COVID-19 vaccines are the most important tool to help end the pandemic, and requiring students to be vaccinated will best support the health of our community and position us for in-person classroom and co-curricular activities for the fall term," Kathleen Hagerty, Northwestern’s provost, Luke Figora, vice president for operations, and Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, vice president for student affairs, said in a joint statement.
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The school said it will grant exemptions for medical and religious reasons. International students who do not have access to the vaccine in their country of origin can request a temporary exemption if they sign up to be vaccinated after arriving back on campus, the email said.
Loyola, DePaul, and Columbia College are also requiring students to get vaccinated in order to return to campus. The University of Illinois at Chicago is not currently mandating a vaccination.