Determined to do its part to end the pandemic, San Joaquin Delta College will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students and employees.
Students must be fully vaccinated in order to register for any Spring Semester classes that meet in person. This approach allows students who have not yet begun the vaccination process time to become fully vaccinated before signing up for classes.
Students taking online-only courses are not required to receive the vaccine, though the college strongly encourages all students, staff and community members to do so.
“With COVID-19 cases on the rise and highly contagious variants continuing to emerge, it was clear that Delta College needed to take action to protect students and employees,” said Superintendent/President Dr. Omid Pourzanjani. “Public health experts agree that vaccination is critical to slowing the pandemic. We believe our plan is a fair path forward for everyone.”
“The Board of Trustees approved a vaccine mandate because it’s simply the right thing to do,” said Board President Dr. Charles Jennings. “Vaccination will help protect students and employees alike, and will help the College as a whole continue with its fundamental mission of providing a quality education for our community members. The sooner we all receive the vaccine, the sooner we can return to a sense of normalcy.”
Both students and employees will have an opportunity to request religious or medical exemptions. Those with approved exemptions will be required to submit results of COVID tests twice a week.
Students should submit either proof of vaccination or an approved exemption by Oct. 15. Priority registration for Spring Semester begins Oct. 18.
Students who submit verification at a later date will still be able to register but could face delays signing up for classes, depending on their assigned registration dates.
The mandate does not apply to the current Fall Semester.
Delta College is also making it easy for both students and employees to receive vaccinations, which are now offered every Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Delta College Health Center in the Locke Center on campus. These clinics offer the Pfizer vaccine, now fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Details about this vaccination opportunity are available at deltacollege.edu/freetextbooks.
For more details on the new vaccination requirements, visit deltacollege.edu/vaccine.
