Georgia Public Universities Will Not Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines This Fall

A nurse fills up a syringe with a COVID-19 vaccine at a senior center in San Antonio, Texas, on March 29, 2021. Sergio Flores/Getty Images

While the list of American colleges and universities mandating COVID-19 vaccination continues to expand, the University System of Georgia (USG) has told its students, faculty, and staff that they don’t have to be vaccinated before returning to campus this fall.

“Institutions are not responsible for assessing current COVID-19 vaccination rates for their institution,” reads the latest public health guidelines by the USG, which enrolled over 341,000 students in its 26 campuses across Georgia as of fall 2020.