The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University both announced Friday that all of their employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8.
The Biden administration mandated federal contractors require their employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in September.
After some time, that has spurred OU and OSU to mandate vaccination. The state’s largest universities have a multitude of federal contracts and grants, and not mandating vaccines could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
In letters sent to employees Friday morning, administrators explained that those who want to seek exemptions for medical and religious reasons can do so.
Tens of thousands of people work for the two schools.
OU's requirement applies to faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate student employees, part-time, temporary and PEAK employees, and graduate research and teaching assistants.
OSU's requirement applies to full-time and part-time faculty at OSU-Stillwater, OSU-Tulsa, Center for Health Sciences locations and OSU Extension.
The vaccine mandates won’t affect students who don't have jobs with the respective universities.
Earlier this week, the University of Tulsa announced it would require vaccinations for all employees in line with the federal directive. The deadline for TU employees is also Dec. 8.
