Jacob Kendrick: On this week's episode, we’ll be discussing EMU Today’s article about the recently announced vaccination mandate for students living on-campus. I am your host Jacob Kendrick and this is the Eastern Echo Podcast.
On Thursday, August 12th, The Office of the President announced in an email that starting this fall, students are required to have received COVID-19 vaccine in order to live on campus.
Currently, the deadline for students to receive their final vaccination shot and verify their vaccination status through the University’s COVID Vax Certification system is Thursday, September 30, 2021.
Additionally, in order to move in, students must submit a negative COVID-19 test result prior to their arrival.
To incentivize students to receive the vaccine, EMU is launching a new contest called the “Get the VAX to WIN” program.
Students who receive the vaccine and have completed the attestation form have the opportunity to win many prizes. Among the many rewards are $5,000 credited to student accounts being awarded to 5 people, a Google Pixelbook Go also being awarded to 5 people, and even free on-campus housing award to 10 people. Employees of the university are also eligible to receive prizes including a $500 payment and a $100 bookstore card credit, which will each be awarded to 10 winners.
President Smith said the following about the most recent announcements:
“We are taking these actions in our ongoing efforts to keep our community safe. With the Washtenaw County region having moved into the “substantial” spread category, along with many other counties in the state, we believe this is the right step to keep our case numbers low as we head into the fall semester. I am proud of the efforts of our students, faculty and staff to keep our case counts among the lowest of public universities over the last year, and these measures will help us stay on that path.”
As always, thank you for listening, and don’t forget to tune in next Wednesday for another episode.
Scripted: Tre Briscoe
Produced: Cameron Santangelo
Host: Jacob Kendrick
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