ALBUQUERQUE – The University of New Mexico will continue to encourage that students, faculty and staff members get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus in August for the fall semester but no longer plans to require it.
University President Garnett Stokes said in a campuswide email that vaccinations are key to stopping the spread of coronavirus and that the university is working toward a 100% vaccination rate.
However, the vaccine remains under emergency use authorization by the federal government, the university noted in a statement Thursday.
The university previously proposed a vaccine requirement and posted a draft policy on its website.
“After more than a year of mostly remote learning and working, mask mandates and testing” the university community views its approaching full return to campus “with a sense of optimism and renewed purpose,” the statement issued Thursday said.
UNM officials continue to urge those who are not vaccinated to continue to wear a mask, the statement said.
