Health board to consider vaccine mandate for Nevada college students

The board meets at 9 a.m. and members of the public can listen in by phone or via Zoom video conferencing.

Originally, the board was scheduled to consider a mandate during a Sept. 3 meeting, but the timeline was moved up.

Gov. Steve Sisolak’s medical advisory team has recommended that Nevada System of Higher Education students be fully vaccinated for the spring 2022 semester.

Nevada is requiring its approximately 27,000 state workers, which includes NSHE employees, to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo testing weekly. The requirement took effect this week.

Thousands of students are preparing to return to campuses in person this month — some of whom will be living in dorms or other densely-populated housing environments — in areas of the state where case numbers are high, including Clark County.

Adding to concerns: the 18-to 24-year-old age group has had one of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases in the state throughout the pandemic.

In May, the higher education system, which oversees eight campuses and more than 100,000 students, announced it was drafting plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for students coming onto campuses for fall semester with some limited exceptions.

NSHE said at the time the requirement would be contingent on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration giving full approval to COVID-19 vaccines, which hasn’t happened, and affirmative votes by the Board of Regents and state Board of Health.

Earlier this month, though, the higher education system said the legal authority for a vaccine mandate for students falls under the state Board of Health.

Hundreds of colleges and universities across the country are mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for students or employees this fall, including the University of California and California State University systems.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.