Bloomberg.com news article about the Coronavirus (Covid-19). Photo credit: AronPW

US university: Minority students exempted from mandatory vaccination

In the United States, Cornell University students can use their “person of color” status to be exempt from the university's requirement to get a flu shot.

Published: December 8, 2020, 9:56 am

    Ithaca

    “Students who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) may have personal concerns due to historical injustices and current events,” says Cornell’s vaccine campaign FAQ.

    Students can send a private message to the health department to request a non-medical or non-religious exemption for vaccination. For more information, the FAQ links to a “specially for students of color” page, which aims to help minority students who are worried about having to get a flu shot.

    “We recognize that, due to longstanding systemic racism and health inequities in this country, individuals from some marginalized communities may have concerns about needing to agree to such requirements,” explains the page. “For example, historically, the bodies of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been mistreated, and used by people in power, sometimes for profit or medical gain.”

    Cornell therefore considers it “understandable that the current Compact requirements may feel suspect or even exploitative to some BIPOC members of the Cornell community”.

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    2 comments

    1. Unless there is evidence that the shot is specifically harmful to non-whites, then any concerns POC might have about the harmfulness of this shot are also valid for whites, regardless of any historical grudges said POC might have. And if any shot is found to be harmful to one racial group, that should be a red flag to anyone considering receiving it. Cornell should be sued by anyone who is subject to different criteria simply because he or she is white.

      Comment by pcl on December 8, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    2. Let them skip the shot then the knuckle draggers might get the flu and expire that way

      Comment by benmyers5 on December 18, 2020 at 2:13 am

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