NYU will end its campuswide COVID-19 vaccine mandate starting May 11, according to an update from Carlo Ciotoli, the vice president for campus health. The decision follows that of other colleges in New York and across the country — including Columbia University, which announced last month that it would retire its mandate in May.

Ciotoli said that the policy change is in response to much lower death and hospitalization rates in New York and nationally compared to the beginning of the pandemic. The rule change will take effect on the same day that the U.S. government ends the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Under the new vaccination rules, visitors will no longer need to show proof of vaccination to enter university buildings and sponsored events, although they will still need to submit a form to NYU’s visitor management system to gain access to campus. Some programs and settings may continue to require vaccination against COVID-19 after the mandate is discontinued.

NYU first required students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 during the fall 2021 semester, just before students returned to campus after a period of pandemic-induced remote learning. The university began providing vaccines on campus through the Student Health Center in April 2021, which it will continue to do after the mandate is lifted, according to NYU spokesperson John Beckman.

Denis Nash, a distinguished professor of epidemiology at the City University of New York, said the end of the mandate does not mean that it is no longer important for students to be vaccinated. Nash said that while the vaccine is not guaranteed to stop an outbreak in a communal setting like a college dorm, it can help prevent students from developing Long COVID, and keep the virus from spreading to more vulnerable populations.

“One of the reasons why there is a decline in hospitalizations and deaths is because people have so-called ‘hybrid immunity’ — either they have immunity from the vaccine or they have some immunity from having been infected,” Nash said. “At least among the college student population, there’s quite a high degree of hybrid immunity, so while there may be cases, I don’t expect to see big increases in hospitalizations.”

Contact Carmo Moniz at [email protected].