Two-thirds of Americans support COVID-19 vaccine requirements for college students

Jamie BallardData Journalist
April 20, 2021, 4:00 PM GMT+0

As the vaccine rollout continues, several colleges and universities have announced that they will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they plan to attend in-person classes this coming fall.

A YouGov poll of more than 19,000 people finds that Americans are largely in favor of this policy. About two-thirds (64%) of Americans say they would support colleges and universities instituting this requirement. Far fewer (25%) are opposed.

Among college students themselves, this also tends to be a popular idea. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of those who are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program say they support a vaccine requirement for colleges.


About one in five college students (22%) are opposed to schools requiring vaccines for in-person learning.

Vaccine requirements aren’t necessarily a new idea. Many colleges already require students to be vaccinated against things like chickenpox, meningitis and measles in order to attend classes or live on campus.

See results here.

Related: Decision to pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine causes public confidence in vaccine to sink

Methodology: 19,594 US adults, including 817 who are enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs, were surveyed between April 5 - 12, 2021. The responding sample is weighted to be representative of the US population.

Image: Getty