BYU University Communications emailed all students, faculty and staff on Aug. 2 asking them to report their COVID-19 vaccination status immediately.
The email said if students have not reported their vaccination status by Aug. 19, access to myBYU will be restricted until the report is received. Access to myBYU will be restored once the employee or student has reported their vaccination status, regardless of what their status is.
“This data will help inform COVID-19 protocol decisions for fall semester, such as mask requirements,” the email says.
BYU does not require students to be vaccinated but “strongly encourages” it. The email says “vaccination may be required for certain travel, research or other programs to be determined in conjunction with applicable regulations and other guidelines.”
Natalie Ipson from University Communications said vaccinations are required for fall study abroad programs and any other international travel. She said BYU’s nursing students must also meet the requirements of their clinical partners in order to participate in clinical work.
BYU’s COVID-19 Updates website said Utah County has been designated as a high transmission area again because of an increase in positive COVID-19 cases.
“The increasing prevalence of the new COVID-19 delta variant is concerning and BYU takes seriously the physical health and safety of our campus community, including those who are immunocompromised. BYU will take a scaled approach to disease prevention that corresponds to vaccination rates among the campus community,” the website states.
The website also ensures the personal information submitted in the survey will be kept private and secure and only authorized BYU personnel with a “need to know” will have access to the information.
BYU is still planning on a traditional fall semester with a majority of courses being offered in-person with full-capacity classrooms, the email says. BYU also posted the same information on its Instagram story.
