UMass Boston, state university system to require vaccinations for fall

The UMass Boston Clark Athletic Center was mostly empty last fall.Stan Grossfeld/ Globe Staff

Students at the University of Massachusetts Boston and in the nine schools of the state university system will be required to be vaccinated for the coronavirus before they return to campus in the fall, officials said Monday.

The nine campuses include Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield and Worcester State Universities, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. UMass Amherst made a similar announcement last week.

The universities join a growing list of schools that will require vaccinations, including Boston University, Northeastern, Lasell, Brown, Rutgers, and Notre Dame.

UMass Boston will require vaccinations for everyone planning to live, study, or conduct research on campus in the fall, with exceptions for those with medical, disability, or religious exemptions, vice chancellors Marie Bowen and Gail DiSabatino and Executive Director of University Health Services Robert Pomales said in an e-mail to the community.

“As vaccination is the most effective way to stop the spread of the virus, it will be a key component in our eventual return to campus,” they said.

In a separate statement Monday, the Massachusetts state university system announced that the presidents of its nine campuses had unanimously voted to require vaccination for any student who will be on campus and that they also “expect that all employees will also be fully vaccinated prior to the start of the fall semester.”