Yukon University will be requiring full COVID-19 vaccination for employees and contractors at all 13 campuses.
Vaccination will also be required for students and visitors at the Whitehorse campus. The requirement will not apply to students attending classes at its community campuses.
In a Nov. 15 statement, the university says the vaccine requirement will come into effect next semester beginning Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.
“Employees, contractors and students have until Feb. 18, 2022, to become fully vaccinated. This means they should get their first vaccine dose by Dec. 10, 2021, and their second dose by Feb. 4, 2022, to allow the vaccine to fully take effect by Feb. 18,” the statement from the university reads.
Yukon U pledged more details about how the vaccine requirement would be implemented by the end of the month. The university says it will “follow accepted practice” when it comes to vaccine requirement exemptions on medical or human rights grounds. Requests for exemptions by students and employees must be submitted by Jan. 4, 2022.
“By taking the step to require full vaccination, Yukon University is ensuring in-person classes and activities can continue as Yukon communities adjust to living with COVID-19,” the statement reads.
According to the university, 60 per cent of classes this year were in-person or contained an in-person component; the remaining 40 per cent were online.
Along with the vaccine mandate on the horizon, the university says they will be following the measures set out under the Yukon’s current state of emergency. This will require masks in all indoor spaces and at all outdoor events where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
