The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Thursday that it will comply with President Joe Biden’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, requiring employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.
All UW-Madison employees, including student employees, will be required to receive either the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the two-doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, according to the university release.
UW-Madison employees that do not comply will face sanctions that could ultimately culminate in termination. Employees may still request medical or religious exemptions.
UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone said that the university estimates that approximately 1,800 employees — including some graduate and student hourly employees — have not yet provided proof of vaccination.
As of Thursday, 95.2% of university employees and staff are fully vaccinated per the university’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Last month, the UW-System announced that it would comply with the mandate given concerns about losing millions of dollars in federal funding.
Biden issued the executive order in early September, requiring all federal contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In UW-Madison’s announcement of compliance, federal contracts valued at over $116 million were cited as reasoning to comply with the “broad scope of the order.”
Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021.
Sophia Vento is the former editor-in-chief of The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the college news editor. She has covered breaking campus, city, state and sports news, and written in-depth stories about health, culture and education. Any newsroom would be lucky to have Sophia on staff. Follow her on Twitter at @sophiasvento.
