University of Florida ‘expects’ students to be vaccinated and wear masks

The University of Florida.

The University of Florida is taking a hard line against changing school operations for students who risk infection by choosing not to get vaccinated.

However, the school takes a softer approach to masks, walking back an initial masking directive after it conflicted with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order banning mask requirements at schools.

UF is beginning to welcome students back for the semester starting Monday.

A campus brief from school administrative staff advises students of COVID-19 policies for the fall semester.

Masks are “expected” inside any UF facility, regardless of vaccination status. The university originally required students to wear masks indoors, according to the brief sent to students on Aug. 6. Still, the university walked back that directive a few days later because it conflicted with DeSantis’ executive order prohibiting schools from requiring masks.

The “expectation” of mask-wearing is the same language used by other universities in Florida eager to keep COVID-19 outbreaks off-campus, such as Florida State University and the University of South Florida.

Another precaution expected but not required for UF students this semester is vaccination. UF “expects” all students to have at least one shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine by Sunday.

The school described getting vaccinated as a “natural extension of the culture of care and compassion we’ve embraced as a campus community.”

The brief went on to say the school will not modify operations to protect a “minority of people” who choose not to get vaccinated.

“Our individual decisions matter greatly in this fight to end this global health crisis. Anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated assumes a significant risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to others. As previously communicated, UF cannot be responsible for that risk, given the ready availability of a vaccine, and cannot modify the operation of the entire university for a minority of people who may choose not to be vaccinated,” read the brief from the school’s administrative staff.

If a student does become sick, UF is not providing on-campus quarantine or isolation space for students as it previously had. Starting this fall, quarantined or isolated students will not be allowed to attend class, and the university said it could not offer an online version of every class.

Each student is expected to complete a Weekly COVID-19 Symptom Screening sent via email, and the school is offering free COVID-19 testing.

The letter’s signatories are as follows:

Joe Glover, Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Charlie Lane, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; D’Andra Mull, Vice President for Student Life; David R. Nelson, M.D., Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, UF & President, UF Health; and David Norton, Vice President for Research Win Phillips, Chief of Staff, Office of the President.

University of Florida President Ken Fuchs was not a signatory on the campus brief.