The University of New England announced on Wednesday that it will require all on-campus students and employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine before the start of the fall semester.
UNE is the third college or university in Maine to require vaccination against the disease.
UNE will allow for some religious and medical exemptions, and those who receive one will be required to wear masks while on the school's campuses in Biddeford and Portland.
But vaccinations will be a must for certain clinical and academic programs and activities. In a written release, UNE president James Herbert says the COVID-19 vaccine will allow the school to return to normal activities that have been missed during the pandemic.
UNE joins both Bowdoin College in Brunswick and the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor in requiring vaccinations by the time school starts next fall. St. Joseph's College in Standish is requiring it for all residential students this summer.
Other schools, including the University of Maine system and Colby College in Waterville, are considering a COVID-19 vaccine requirement, and are strongly encouraging the vaccine in the meantime.
