HKUST hints at campus vaccine requirement

The University of Science and Technology said on Friday that students and staff who cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19 for health reasons will need to submit to regular tests, but stopped short of spelling out how it will deal with those who choose not to be inoculated.

In a letter, university president Wei Shyy and other members of the institution’s management team, called on students and faculty members to get vaccinated, so that normal teaching can resume after the summer holidays in September.

“While the pandemic is far from over, the availability of effective vaccines has transformed our ability to manage the public health issues around the pandemic,” the letter said. “The evidence in favour of vaccination as a primary deterrent to the spread of the coronavirus is clear.”

It went on to say that members of the university “need to consider not only their individual well-being but also the health of our entire community as well as that of the wider public. Vaccination is an act not only protecting ourselves but those around us.”

While the university “encouraged” students, staff and contractors to get vaccinated, it did not explicitly say whether those who don’t could be barred from entering the campus.

It only said that regular negative test results will be required of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, adding that details of the testing and reporting requirement will be announced later.

Rachel Lo, who heads the university’s provisional student union, said they do not support the move, as some students are worried about possible vaccine side effects.

She said it feels like the university is forcing them to be vaccinated, as it will be very costly to take a test every two weeks.

Chinese University recently announced that students staying in dormitories in the next academic year will need to be vaccinated, or they will be tested every two weeks.

The Hong Kong government’s vaccination programme – involving the mainland-made Sinovac jab and Germany’s BioNTech vaccine – is voluntary.