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LSU still waiting for approval of COVID vaccine before mandating it

2 years 7 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, July 27 2021 Jul 27, 2021 July 27, 2021 6:00 PM July 27, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed Tuesday that the state's private universities—Loyola, Dillard, Tulane, and Xavier—have received approval from the state to require vaccines for students and faculty.

LSU is waiting until the vaccine is approved by the FDA. Right now, it's only circulating for emergency use by the CDC.

In June, the LSU Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to add the COVID shot to the university's mandated vaccine list when it is approved for full use.

On Tuesday, Senator Bill Cassidy suggested people weigh vaccinations as a health care issue and talk to their doctor.  He likened the COVID vaccine to others already available. 

"We already have vaccine mandates. A child cannot start school unless vaccinated for hep b, measles, mumps, rubella, DPT, and other things. Similarly, children starting college have to be vaccinated for these things, so I think we need to separate out if an institution makes a decision as this, as if this is something strange and new, this is commonly done," Cassidy said.

There are questions about the legality of the move. Attorney General Jeff Landry has been adamant that LSU cannot legally mandate the vaccine because it's only approved for emergency use. However, the Department of Justice on Monday said it's perfectly legal.

Pfizer is currently the closest to getting FDA approval, but a timeline has not been announced.

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