Hundreds still blocked from Sacramento State campus over COVID vaccine. Here’s the latest
More than 25,000 California State University, Sacramento students have submitted documentation they have received a COVID-19 vaccine, school officials announced a day after several hundred students were barred from campus for failing to meet the vaccination deadline.
Through Wednesday, 25,488 Sacramento State students, or 81% of the 31,500 enrolled this fall, had submitted their COVID-19 vaccination proof, according to a news release. Of the number of students taking in-person classes this fall, 89% have met the vaccine requirement.
Campus officials said 1,070, or 3% of students enrolled this fall, have submitted a religious exemption; 2,531 (8%) have pledged not to enter campus; and 205 (.06%) have submitted a medical exemption. Students who declare exemptions are required to undergo twice-weekly COVID-19 testing, according to the news release.
On Tuesday, 4,306 students received an email from Sacramento State indicating that they were denied access to the campus for failing to meet the vaccine self-certification deadline on Monday. But campus officials said 2,100 of those students have completed their certification since then. That leaves 2,206 (7%) of enrolled students barred from campus, according to Sacramento State.
Self-certification means students are declaring they have been vaccinated or qualify for an exemption, or will not be going to campus this fall. Medical or religious exemptions might require additional steps for students.
Students denied access cannot participate in “in-person classes, in-person campus programs or services, any placements (e.g. field, clinical or internship placements) are in jeopardy, and you may be subject to disciplinary action,” according to the email sent to students.
Students who fail to self-certify their status or participate in the on-campus testing program by Sept. 27 “will have their in-person courses administratively dropped.” Those students can can lose eligibility for financial aid and potentially owe prorated registration fees to the university, according to the email to students.
Campus officials clarified that students dropped from their in-person classes will be allowed to continue any virtual classes in which they are enrolled. As of Wednesday, no students have been “disenrolled because of the certification requirement,” according to the release.
The school “will conduct random outreach to students for verification of vaccination and exemption status, during which selected students will be required to provide documentation in support of the certification or exemption,” campus officials said.
Ed Mills, vice president for student affairs at Sacramento State, wrote in a memo on Tuesday that students can go to the Student Center to “self-certify their status by entering their vaccination information, declaring an exemption, or checking the box that they will not be accessing campus.”
In late July, the California State University system announced that it would require all students, faculty and staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccination ahead of the fall term. The CSU decision came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that all government employees and health care workers in the state would be required to get a vaccine or face a weekly test for the coronavirus.
Students who have questions about the vaccine certification can email covidquestions@csus.edu. Students can also find more COVID-19 information on the Sacramento State website.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 6:07 PM.
