LSU Announces How Many Students Are Kicked Out Over COVID Vaccine
After last Friday's deadline, leaders at LSU in Baton Rouge are moving to unenroll students who did not meet their COVID-19 vaccination protocols.
Earlier this year, LSU leadership announced that they would be requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 once a vaccine gained full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. Once the Pfizer COVID vaccine was fully approved, the university informed students that they were moving forward with their COVID vaccine plans. This gave students a month to start their vaccine process, or file their paperwork to opt-out.
Yesterday, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard Tweeted out the number of students who will be unenrolled for not meeting COVID vaccine standards. The number he gave was 78 students...
It's noteworthy that Ballard "quote Tweeted" another Tweet that included a statement from LSU President William Tate, who said the number "will be so small that it won't be a story." That statement from Tate raised some eyebrows, with some online suggesting that any number of students being removed is a "story".
With LSU's vaccine mandate, it came with an opt-out program as well. Inside that program, the students who filled out the opt-out forms will be subjected to weekly testing until they are fully vaccinated.
The FDA giving the Pfizer vaccine full approval meant that students were required to get at least their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, or complete opt-out paperwork, by last Friday (September 10th). The students were required to submit proof of their vaccination status to the school if they were going the vaccination route. Those who were opting out had to submit that paperwork on the same day. Students who did not comply are now facing unenrollment from the university.
Students who are unenrolled over the COVID vaccine policy will receive a partial refund on their tuition. The students will not be allowed to reenroll for the Spring Semester until they have complied with the new COVID vaccine policy.