Miami U faculty sign letter demanding mandatory COVID-19 vaccines

Nearly 200 faculty members at Miami University signed a letter this week urging the university to require all campus community members, including students, get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The letter came before Ohio State announced Tuesday it would require Buckeyes to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15.

The letter, addressed to Miami president Gregory Crawford, provost Jason Osborne and the university's board of trustees, states the university's failure to require COVID-19 vaccines "is creating a dangerous situation for our community" even as the university has insisted that the majority of classes be taught in person this fall.

"The Miami community includes many parents or caregivers in regular contact with children or grandchildren too young to be vaccinated. Others live with immunocompromised loved ones or care for elderly people, whose immunity is generally lower, even after they have been vaccinated against the virus," the letter reads. "Some employees and students are themselves in these at-risk categories. With the Delta strain now sweeping through the area and the nation, vaccinations in addition to masking are essential."