Maine Maritime requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19

Getattachmentthumbnail

(CASTINE, Maine) — Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) has announced a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for students this fall. Students will be required to complete the vaccination process by Oct. 1.

MMA will begin welcoming students back to campus later this month and the college’s faculty and staff are preparing for a busy semester. In addition to a continued focus on academic excellence and hands-on, minds-on learning, health and safety remain a key priority in planning for what many hope to be a normalized campus experience this fall.

Getattachmentthumbnail
Maine Maritime Academy photo

“We were very much hoping to have a return to campus that resembled a traditional ‘back to school’ experience,” explained President William J. Brennan. “Unfortunately, the emergence of the Delta variant has complicated our plans and required continual adjustments in how we think, learn, and work.”

“Over the past many months, our stance has been to strongly encourage vaccination. So far, we’ve had great luck in getting folks on board with the vaccines and we’re truly very grateful for that,” Brennan said. “Still, the situation has changed, and we now feel that a vaccine requirement is a necessary next step in our fight against COVID-19.”

For many students at the academy, vaccinations were already required by host companies as part of their summer training experiences. Similarly, over 80 percent of MMA employees have already verified their vaccination status.

For those who are not yet vaccinated, the school will host a community vaccine clinic on Aug. 27. Students who participate in the clinic will be automatically entered into the college’s vaccine lottery, a series of weekly giveaways designed to promote vaccinations and generate excitement for the upcoming school year.

The upcoming clinic is designed to help students meet the new vaccine requirements, but it will be open to all members of the campus community and the public as well. Both the Johnson & Johnson and the Pfizer vaccine will be available. A follow-up clinic for those needing a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be scheduled later this fall.

While the vaccine requirement relates only to students, Brennan acknowledged that the school’s position might soon change in regard to employees. “We are currently evaluating contractual obligations, but it is my hope that our employees recognize their responsibility to our community – and to our students in particular – and make their decision to get vaccinated without an employer or government mandate,” he said.

Additional information about the upcoming semester can be found on Maine Maritime Academy’s fall 2021 page.

– Maine Maritime Academy

By Professional Mariner Staff