WASHINGTON — Historically Black colleges and universities are grappling with whether to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations this academic year, with the coronavirus continuing to spread at higher rates in communities of color.
Compulsory COVID-19 testing for students is becoming more common at HBCUs and some schools are requiring vaccination for students and faculty to be on campus.
On a typical morning at Alabama State University, an HBCU in Montgomery where vaccinations are not mandatory but facial coverings are, students might spot the school’s president, Quinton Ross, patrolling academic buildings on campus.
“Being up close and personal is what I do,” said Ross, a former K-12 educator. “And it’s a constant reminder because all of us have to take that personal responsibility,” he said of his desire to set a good example by walking around in a mask.
Black individuals account for 9.1% of fully vaccinated Americans, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and make up 12.4% of the nation’s population.
Historically Black colleges and universities — many of which are located in Southern states seeing a sharp rise in cases — are instituting strict COVID-19 prevention protocols as they seek to keep campuses open and give students a more normal experience this fall.
ASU installed temperature-checking machines at building entrances, is doing randomized testing of students and using drones spraying disinfectant to sanitize sports facilities. Ross said the school is also working with student leaders to provide incentives for vaccination.
“We’ve been looking at what the courts have been doing,” Ross said of vaccine mandates. “We didn’t want to use vaccination as a deterrent. I think it could be a deterrent to some. But we strongly encourage it by us having it on campus,” he said, referring to the school’s vaccination site.
North Carolina A&T is requiring that students who do not offer proof of vaccination be tested each week. The school has a zero tolerance policy and students who do not comply will have their access cards for dormitory rooms and meal plans shut off.
“I’m definitely very concerned going into the school year that it could be a bad school year. We saw people that were sick, but I think we’ll end up seeing students that are sicker, more and more symptomatic, we’ll get a lot more of that,” said Padonda Webb, N.C. A&T’s director of Student Health Services. “And that’s why we are pushing, pushing, pushing vaccinations as much as we possibly can.”
The Greensboro university is giving out free T-shirts and gift cards to students who get vaccinated, and holding a weekly drawing for larger prizes including free housing, free parking and a homecoming experience that Webb said will give the winner access to the football team’s locker room.
But as with other public institutions that are part of the University of North Carolina System, the HBCU that has approximately 13,500 students cannot mandate that students and faculty get COVID-19 immunization shots.
“It would be much easier if there were just a mandate from the state to say, hey, everybody is required to have it,” Webb said. “Without that being in place, I feel like we’re constantly justifying the decisions that we’re making.”
Florida A&M University has taken a similar approach to vaccinations. The school in Tallahassee said it is providing $100 gift certificates to up to 10 students, faculty and staff each week who get inoculated against the virus.
As a public university it is unable to require vaccinations or masks at indoor facilities. Florida banned public colleges and universities from requiring vaccinations.
FAMU is, instead, making vaccines and masks easily accessible. It is also discouraging large gatherings on campus and encouraging regular testing for its vaccinated population, given the rise and transmissibility of the delta variant.
“The more people we can get into compliance, so to speak, with those guidelines the better off we would all be,” FAMU President Larry Robinson said of mask-wearing and vaccination.
The CDC in general guidance to higher education institutions said that universities with fully vaccinated students, faculty and staff need not require masking or physical distancing, though it is now recommending that everyone in areas with a high or substantial degree of COVID-19 spread wear a mask at public indoor settings.
For schools not requiring vaccinations, the CDC recommended the implementation of a screening program with frequent testing. It also suggested limitations on large gatherings at schools with unvaccinated students while not explicitly advising colleges and universities to forgo sporting events.
“It’s really not doing a one-size-fits-all but really working closely with HBCUs to answer their specific questions and be helpful to them,” said Cameron Webb, senior policy adviser for equity with the White House COVID-19 Response Team, referring to federal guidance.
President Joe Biden and his administration have offered encouragement to colleges and universities, including Black medical schools, that put vaccine mandates in place for their students.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona commended Howard University in Washington, D.C., for vaccinating its students and the surrounding community.
“They’re using their name in the community to build confidence in the community — the Black community — so that they felt comfortable coming in,” Cardona said.
Howard is among the private HBCUs requiring students to be vaccinated this fall. It has also mandated the vaccine for faculty and staff. Delaware State University in Dover, a public institution, is also requiring proof of vaccination for students. It has not extended the mandate to employees.
DSU General Counsel LaKresha Moultrie said the university’s goal is to create a bubble that improves student safety and allows them to participate in campus activities.
“This also gives us the opportunity to say, no need to leave campus every weekend. No need to plan activities outside of our campus. We can host you here, and we know you’re safe because you’re testing regularly,” Moultrie said. “We know you’re safe, because we have a vaccinated population to the greatest extent possible. So I think it serves everyone’s interests.”
Medical experts say they are concerned about HBCUs this fall with young adults and African Americans getting vaccinated more slowly than their peers. The Black community throughout the pandemic has also been at a higher risk of contracting and experiencing serious side effects from COVID.
“I’m deeply concerned about students returning to campus in the face of a more contagious delta variant,” said former Surgeon General Jerome Adams. “The good news is we have more ppe, more testing, more knowledge about the virus, and most importantly, vaccinations. The bad news is, many black communities for a variety of reasons are still lagging in terms of vaccination rates, so HBCUs could be at higher risk for outbreaks.”
Webb said the White House COVID-19 response team has spoken to states that are experiencing surges about their engagement with HBCUs. He said that health officials were also working with Howard University President Wayne Frederick, a cancer surgeon who has been organizing webinars for HBCUs on combating COVID.
Frederick said in an interview prior to a virtual meeting with Biden this week that Howard has been assisting HBCUs without medical colleges with their COVID-19 prevention strategies. He said he is also providing information on the vaccine to Howard faculty and staff who say they have concerns so that they can make informed decisions.
“One person at a time, if you have to,” he said. “I’ll speak to anybody — not just them — I’ll speak to any of their friends, any of their family members, anywhere in the country, answer any questions that they have.”
