Some red-state colleges won't mandate COVID vaccine for students – but they will for employees

A fresh batch of universities, some of them reluctantly, are rolling out new COVID-19 vaccine mandates – this time for university employees.

But the polarization among college campuses continues: Even as some colleges are expanding vaccine mandates, others are allowing their mask requirements to expire.

The expanded vaccine rules are linked to the government’s requirement that its contractors all be vaccinated or risk losing federal money. Many, although not all, universities receive federal money to conduct research.

Citing the federal order, colleges in states such as Arizona, Alabama and Mississippi have required their employees to be vaccinated, even after their local leaders opposed and sometimes outlawed such mandates. Other universities in red states such as Georgia, Missouri, or Tennessee are interpreting the federal order more selectively.  ...