FARGO — North Dakota State University employees have been told they must get a coronavirus vaccine, pursuant to a mandate issued by U.S. President Joe Biden.
The school will implement its second phase of complying with a federal mandate that says the employees of federal contractors must be vaccinated by Jan. 4, NDSU President Dean Bresciani told his campus Monday, Nov. 29. NDSU has more than $33 million in federal contracts, as well as federal buildings on campus. Not obeying the mandate could put those funds at risk, Bresciani said in his update.
"If you are not fully vaccinated and cannot seek an exemption, you should start the vaccination process as soon as possible," Bresciani wrote. "We implemented this mandate now to give the employees more than enough time to have a choice regarding vaccinations."
At first, NDSU only required 33 employees, those who worked in federal buildings on campus, to be vaccinated. The university had been waiting to see if the mandate would be modified or blocked by courts. Neither happened, Bresciani noted.
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The Biden mandate includes religious and medical exemptions, though those employees will have to abide by other mitigation efforts, including weekly testing, masking and social distancing, according to the update.
The mandate does not apply to students unless they also work for NDSU, Bresciani said. NDSU has extended its $100 incentive program for students to gethttps://www.inforum.com/news/education/7281212-NDSU-students-get-second-shot-at-100-for-coronavirus-vaccine
The Moderna shot requires four weeks between the two injections, meaning employees should get their first shot by Dec. 7. The Pfizer vaccine has a waiting period of three weeks between the two-shot series, with the first injection required by Dec. 14.
Employees only need one shot for the Janssen, or Johnson & Johnson, vaccine.
Employees will be required to submit proof of vaccination at ndsu.edu/covid19/vaccine_information.
NDSU has 2,411 full-time employees and 3,550 part-time workers. It is unclear exactly how many are vaccinated, but Bresciani said in a Nov. 5 that most faculty, staff and students are vaccinated.
