Montana University System will not require vaccinations

Students won’t be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine to study on one of the Montana University System campuses, but they can get a $10 gift card per shot from Town Pump if they do — or $20 for a Johnson & Johnson — said Helen Thigpen, with the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

“Obviously, we’re aware of campuses taking that approach,” said Thigpen, executive director of government relations and public affairs, of the vaccine requirement. But she said the Board of Regents isn’t mandating vaccinations at this point. “They’re strongly encouraging it in every way possible.”

A Washington Post story Wednesday said universities mandating coronavirus vaccines are mostly on the East Coast. It noted Indiana University, with more than 100,000 students and employees, will require the vaccine as a way to return to normalcy.

Thigpen also said vaccinations wouldn’t be required for employees. The direction to campuses was coming from the Board of Regents, she said, and she did not believe individual schools could make decisions to be more strict.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/06/24/montana-university-system-will-not-require-vaccinations/