LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon University announced Thursday, June 3, it will require students and employees to be vaccinated in order to take part in on-campus learning.

Eastern will officially require COVID-19 vaccinations when the FDA fully approves one or more of the vaccines. Both Pfizer and Moderna have started the months-long process of securing full approval, and the FDA has indicated they’re “highly likely” to be approved later in 2021. But school officials don’t want members of the campus community waiting for that, emphasizing in a news release that it “strongly encourages students, employees and partners to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.”

“We are focused on protecting the safety and health of the EOU community and returning to a highly engaged, in-person, on-campus experience that upholds our mission and shared values,” said Eastern Oregon University President Tom Insko.

EOU will allow students to attend courses virtually if they choose not to receive one of the COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, the university will make accommodations for medical and non-medical exemptions as those decisions are made accordingly by program personnel.

With EOU’s announcement, every public university in the state of Oregon now requires the COVID-19 vaccination for on-campus participation. Oregon Institute of Technology made a similar announcement June 2.

Tim Seydel, vice president for university advancement, said the feedback from many students at the school during the last year indicated a desire to get back to an in-person experience.

“Students came to college for that experience of living in residence halls, going to football games, seeing live entertainment,” he said. “They’re not able to do that right now.”

According to Seydel, Eastern will likely be able to host outdoor events in full next fall, as well as tracking state guidelines for indoor gatherings.

Since the 2020 fall semester, Eastern Oregon has been holding classes at roughly 50% capacity. With approximately 3,000 students enrolled, the La Grande university managed to avoid going fully remote like many other colleges and universities across Oregon and the rest of the country, according to Seydel.

Seydel said the conversation with other universities about vaccination requirements has been ongoing at the state level for quite some time. While EOU is the last public university in the state to mandate vaccinations, many students approved of the diligence.

“It’s nice that they’re waiting until it’s FDA approved, since a lot of other colleges aren’t doing that,” said EOU junior Anna Kestie.

Junior Mary Ellen Buxton echoed Kestie’s sentiment and noted both she and Kestie already have been vaccinated.

To better gauge the campus community’s response toward vaccinations, the university conducted a COVID-19 vaccination survey in February that produced mixed opinions. Just fewer than 900 individuals participated in the survey.

According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, 65% of students voted “no” and 30% voted “yes” to requiring vaccinations in the fall. However, 75% of faculty were in favor and 22% were against.

While faculty mostly favored the requirement and students generally opposed it, that created difficulty for the school’s board of trustees to balance the community’s thoughts with statewide trends.

“The science is very clear that the vaccine is effective and it’s safe,” said Board Trustee Brad Stephens during a board meeting last month.

“I don’t know how I feel about them mandating the vaccine,” said EOU student Tori Reynolds. “Why are you basing someone’s ability to get a higher education on whether or not they want to get a vaccine?”

The university will not add the COVID-19 vaccination to its list of required vaccines, alongside the measles vaccine.

“Any information we gather from students will be confidential,” Seydel said. “That is not information that is posted anywhere, just like the current students’ immunizations records.”

Last month, Eastern Oregon updated its face covering requirements on campus for the remainder of the semester to allow students and staff to gather outdoors without masks, void of any social distancing. However, the university said students in small groups of eight or fewer can gather indoors without masks, so long as they can show proof of vaccination.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, 34% of Union County is vaccinated. That number is well below the state average, which eclipsed 50% toward the end of May.

“I think it depends on where most of the students come from,” said EOU student Isabella Evans. “Depending on their backgrounds, a lot of people tend to not want to get the vaccine.”

Eastern has been holding vaccination clinics on campus periodically throughout the month of May and into June. More than 100 individuals attended the first clinic at Quinn Coliseum May 4, where the Moderna vaccine was administered.

When the FDA will approve the numerous COVID-19 vaccinations remains to be seen. No vaccine is fully approved, but Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson were all granted emergency use authorization. All three have applied for full approval, a process that can take several months to a year, according to the FDA.

Until full approval, Eastern Oregon University will be moving forward with the mindset that one or more of the vaccines will be fully approved by the fall term, as with many other schools across the state.

“We remain committed to providing all students with the greatest educational opportunities possible in preparation for success after graduation,” Insko said.