Indiana University added an ethical exemption to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to university spokesperson Chuck Carney.
Carney said in an email the additional exemption brings the COVID-19 vaccine requirement in line with previous requirements, such as last year’s influenza vaccine.
The ethical exemption is in addition to medical and religious exemptions previously allowed by the university, but it does not mean more people are opting out. Carney said almost 85 percent of all IU campus communities have reported getting at least a first dose of the vaccine.
Read: Federal Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction Against IU Vaccine Mandate
Given the current vaccination rate, and with numbers still to come, the university expects to have a comparable amount, if not more, people immunized against COVID-19 than some of the other vaccines it mandates under Indiana law.
IU is requiring all students, faculty and staff to attest to being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 15.
