As classes begin this fall, University of Saskatchewan students, faculty and staff are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have at least their first shot by September 7th and their second shot by October 18th.

USask President Peter Stoicheff says anyone who is unable or unwilling to get vaccinated will have to provide regular and frequent negative COVID-19 test results, and submit to a daily symptom checklist to access the campus. Vaccinations will be required for those involved in higher-risk activities, including those who live in residence and those involved in Huskie Athletics. Requests for exemption will be considered in alignment with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.

These recommendations come from the university’s Pandemic Response and Recovery Team, because of the emerging risk of Delta and other variants of concern, as well as the stalled and comparatively low vaccination rate for those under 30 in Saskatchewan. There were consultations with other Canadian institutions, USask faculty and legal and public health experts in making these decisions. Details on how to provide proof of vaccination will be announced in the coming days.

Chair of the USask Pandemic Response and Recovery Team, Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, says this decision is in response to the COVID-19 fourth wave underway across Canada and concern about the highly transmissible Delta variant. “The intention of these measures is to try and normalize and allow students and everyone else to experience all the campus has to offer, and I think the reality right now is the path to that is through vaccination.”

Other safety measures remain in place, including the requirement for masks indoors, space re-configurations in high traffic areas and enhanced cleaning.
There will also be vaccination clinics on campus.