Inside Higher Ed Publishes Akin Gump Article on Legal Issues Surrounding Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations
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Inside Higher Ed has published the article “The Mandate Maze,” written by Akin Gump partner Michael Vernick, counsel Molly Whitman and associate McKenzie Miller. The article examines the legal issues surrounding the requirement by colleges and universities that students receive COVID-19 vaccinations before returning to campus in the fall.
The authors write that the fundamental question to ask “is whether state and federal laws even permit higher education institutions to mandate these vaccines.” They note that the answer “will likely vary from state to state and differ depending on whether an institution is public or private,” with courts yet to weigh in on the issue.
The article then discusses some permissible exemptions, including for medical, religious or philosophical reasons, as well as how to obtain proof of vaccination. Some institutions, though, have already learned, the authors write, that they may be constrained “by their state governments and their status as a public or private entity.”
To read the article in full, please click here.
