Student Policy on Immunization

I.   STATEMENT OF POLICY:

The purpose of this policy is:

1.    To comply with New York State Public Health Law § 2165, which requires all students born on or after January 1, 1957 who are enrolled for at least six (6) credits or more to provide proof of immunization to measles, mumps, and rubella;

2.    To comply with New York State Public Health Law § 2167, which requires the distribution of information regarding meningococcal meningitis and meningitis immunization to all students who are enrolled for at least six (6) credits or more and completion by such students of a meningitis response form;

3.    To implement the University’s requirement that all students be fully vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis;

4.    To implement the University’s requirement that all students be fully vaccinated against COVID-19;

5.    To proactively address emerging health threats to the student population and the larger NYU community in a higher education campus setting; and

6.    To protect the overall health, safety, and welfare of the New York University campus and community.

 

II.   TO WHOM THE POLICY APPLIES:

This policy applies to all students attending or registered to attend classes at the NYU New York campus and/or attending any NYU Global Site.

III.       POLICY STATEMENT

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

All students born on or after January 1, 1957 enrolled for at least six (6) credits or more shall be required to provide the University with certification from a health care provider or other acceptable evidence that they have received immunization against measles, mumps and rubella with vaccines that meet the standards for such biological products that have been approved by the United States Public Health Service and the New York State Department of Health; or evidence of immunity by history of disease or serological evidence.  

A student may meet such requirement by providing the documentation set forth under either Section (1) or (2) below:

1.    A certificate of immunization that shows the student has:

a.    With respect to measles, either:

i.   received two doses of live measles virus vaccine, the first dose administered after the age of 12 months and the second dose administered more than 30 days after the first dose but after 15 months of age; or

ii.     been diagnosed by a physician as having had measles disease; or

iii.     demonstrated serological evidence of measles antibodies by submitting a lab report; or

iv.     if the student is unable to provide a certificate of immunization that satisfies the requirements in (i), (ii) or (iii) above, documentation that proves the student attended primary or secondary school in the United States after 1980, and a certificate of immunization that documents a dose of measles vaccine was administered within one year prior to attendance at the post-secondary institution; and

b.    With respect to rubella, either:

i.     received a single dose of live rubella virus vaccine administered after the age of 12 months; or

ii.     demonstrated serological evidence of rubella antibodies by submitting a lab report; and

c.    With respect to mumps, either:

i.     received a single dose of live mumps virus vaccine administered after the age of 12 months; or

ii.     been diagnosed by a physician as having had mumps disease; or

iii.     demonstrated serological evidence of mumps antibodies by submitting a lab report.

2.    A certificate of immunization that shows the student is in the process of completing the requirements of Section (1) above and:

a.    has received at least one dose of live measles virus vaccine as required in Section (1); and

b.    has complied with the requirements in Section (1) for mumps and rubella; and

c.    has an appointment to return to a health practitioner for the remainder of the immunizations specified in Section (1), if this appointment is scheduled no more than 90 days since administration of the first dose of measles virus vaccine.

Proof of discharge from the armed services within ten (10) years from the date of application to NYU shall enable a student to attend courses pending actual receipt of armed forces records indicating such student has been immunized against measles, mumps, and rubella.  If a health risk arises at the University while awaiting receipt of such actual immunization records, the University may remove the student from campus if proper immunization cannot be proved or otherwise rectified.

Meningococcal Meningitis

All students enrolled for at least six (6) credits or more shall receive written information from the University about meningococcal meningitis and meningitis immunization, and complete a meningococcal meningitis response form,  certifying either that they have received such immunization within the past ten years, or that they have received the written information from the University and understand the risks of meningococcal meningitis but have chosen not to be immunized against it.  The parent and guardian of students under the age of 18 must make the certification on behalf of the student.
 
All students enrolled for at least six (6) credits or more must provide the University with certification from a health care provider or other acceptable evidence that they have received immunization to meningococcal meningitis A,C,W,Y on or after their 16th birthday and within the prior 5 years.   Students who have submitted acceptable evidence of proof of immunization against meningococcal meningitis shall be deemed to have completed the response form referenced in the prior paragraph.

Students who are over 21 years of age may opt-out of the meningococcal meningitis immunization requirement by completing the applicable waiver form.

COVID-19

All students must provide the University with certification from a health care provider or other acceptable evidence that they have been fully vaccinated, including any applicable boosters, against COVID-19, as defined by NYU.  The current requirements for which vaccines will be accepted, what boosters are required, and what constitutes acceptable proof of vaccination will be posted on the NYU website from time to time and/or will be otherwise communicated to students.

All international immunization documents must be translated into English prior to submission by a professional translation service.

IV.        EXCEPTION TO IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT

Students may request an exemption from any of the vaccination requirements set forth above for medical or religious reasons.

Medical Exemptions

Medical exemptions may be granted if a physician (MD, DO), nurse practitioner (NP, FNP), or physician assistant (PA, PA-C), with a valid and active license in the United States, certifies in writing that such vaccination may be detrimental to the student’s health or is otherwise medically contraindicated.  International students may have the form completed and signed by a physician licensed in their country of residence. The statement must indicate the particular vaccine that is detrimental to the student's health or otherwise medically contraindicated, including a detailed explanation of the valid medical basis for such determination, and the length of time for which it may be detrimental.   Exemption requests should be based on the most recent guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. All exemption requests are subject to review by physicians at the NYU Student Health Center who may further consult with and consider information from the CDC, ACIP, and/or may request additional information from the student’s provider. 

A student must submit a separate exemption request for each vaccine from which they request a medical exemption.  Medical exemptions will be granted on a temporary basis when the condition supporting an exemption is expected to resolve or expire.  The certifying medical provider must set an expected end date to temporary exemptions or the exemption will expire at the end of the current semester.

Religious Exemptions

Religious exemptions may be granted if a student, or a minor student’s parent or guardian, certifies in writing that they hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs which are contrary to the practice of immunization.  In order to assess this standard, the student must submit a personal statement in their own words that describes with specificity the religious principles that guide the objection to immunization.  Exemptions will not be granted when opposition to immunization is medical, scientific, political, philosophical, ethical, or otherwise secular rather than religious in nature.  The University may require additional supporting documentation.  The Student Health Center will utilize a form setting forth these and, in its discretion, any additional requirements in order to assess the validity of the exemption request.

Requests from students of the College of Dentistry will be reviewed in accordance with the relevant regulations of the NYS Department of Health, which limit the extent to which NYU may allow for religious exemptions to vaccination for students who engage in activities at covered healthcare facilities.

Exemption Request Process

All medical and religious exemption requests should be submitted on the exemption request forms provided by NYU and accompanied by a waiver form signed by the student, or a minor student’s parent or guardian.  Exemption requests will not be reviewed if incomplete documentation is submitted.  Complete submissions will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if they are valid.  

Students will be notified by University email whether or not their exemption request was approved.  All decisions of the University are final and are not subject to appeal.  If an exemption is granted, the student may be required to comply with additional safety protocols as set forth by NYU, such as ongoing testing requirements, and/or temporary exclusion from certain facilities or activities in order to protect the health and safety of the student and the community in accordance with public health guidelines and University policies.

Previously granted exemptions are subject to further review at any time based on changes to vaccine availability, public health developments and guidelines, and other factors within NYU’s discretion.

 

V.       PROCEDURES

The Student Health Center shall send to each: (1) new student who has paid a deposit to attend NYU; and (2) returning student who is not in compliance with any aspect of this policy all the information, forms, and instructions necessary to come into compliance.  The Student Health Center shall make available on its website and/or otherwise communicate to students the timeline for submitting all documentation required under this policy.  

The Student Health Center shall, following the date set for submitting all documentation required under this policy, notify any student who has not complied with this policy of (i) the necessity to comply with this policy and how they can come into compliance with these requirements, including that measles, mumps, rubella immunization may be administered by any health practitioner, or without charge by the health officer in New York County or the county where the student resides, and (ii) compliance with this policy is required for attendance at the University unless an exemption is granted as set forth above.

Students who fail to comply with all the requirements of this policy will be subject to action by the University up to and including de-enrollment, including de-enrollment that is mandated in certain circumstances by New York law.  Consequences of non-compliance may be progressive and include, but are not limited to, (i) being de-registered from course selections; (ii) being required to vacate residence hall, (iii) being prevented from entering campus buildings (which includes the inability to attend classes and any related academic consequences), (iv) having their student identification card deactivated, and (v) de-enrollment from the University (which includes but is not limited to all of the aforementioned consequences).  Students who are de-enrolled may in some instances be ineligible to receive a refund of any portion of tuition and fees as provided by University policy.   

Deadlines for de-enrollment for failure to comply with MMR requirements are set by state law and shall occur no later than 30 days from the first day of scheduled classes for the applicable semester, which may be extended to no later than 45 days for students arriving from outside New York state who can show a good faith effort to comply with the requirements.  Deadlines for de-enrollment for failure to comply with the meningitis response form requirement are set by state law and shall occur no later than thirty days from the first day of scheduled classes for the applicable semester, which may be extended to no more than 60 days if a student can show a good faith effort to comply with the requirement.  NYU reserves the right to de-enroll a student for non-compliance with either of these two requirements prior to the outside deadlines provided by state law.  Deadlines for de-enrollment for failure to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine are set by NYU and will be communicated to students.  In all instances of non-compliance with this policy, students shall be notified prior to de-enrollment.  Should NYU de-enroll a student for non-compliance with any aspect of this policy, NYU may require compliance with all aspects of the policy (i.e. all vaccines), regardless of the time that would be typically allotted, before permitting the student to enroll again, in order to minimize the disruption of potential multiple de-enrollments.

This policy shall be carried out by the Executive Director, Student Health Center and their designees.  All information received pursuant to this policy will be treated as confidential and will be retained in accordance with applicable University and Student Health Center polices.

Notes:

1. Dates of official enactment and amendments:

Section IV, 1. Revised 3/14/13

2. History:     

New York University implemented Public Health Law 2165 mandating measles, mumps and rubella immunizations for college students as required by New York State Law on August 1, 1990;

New York University implemented Public Health Law 2168 mandating that colleges and universities distribute information about meningococcal meningitis and meningitis immunization to students as required by New York State Law on August 23, 2003.

New York University implemented the completion of health history as a health requirement in Fall of 2008.

3. Cross References:

New York State Public Health Law 2165 and 2167;

American College Health Association Recommendations for Institutional Pre-matriculation Immunizations;

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations;

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines