No vaccine mandates for Virginia state colleges, says Youngkin's new AG

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an opinion Friday that asserts that the state's public colleges and universities cannot require the COVID-19 vaccine for students as a condition of enrollment or in-person attendance.

"Absent specific authority conferred by the General Assembly, public institutions of higher education in Virginia may not require vaccination against COVID-19 as a general condition of students' enrollment or in-person attendance," Miyares wrote in the opinion dated Wednesday, according to local outlet WAVY-TV.

The opinion is only advisory and non-binding, the Virginia Mercury reported.

"Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Assembly has amended other statues to address pandemic-related issues," Miyares stated.

Miyares then mentioned the specifics of what has happened on a legal level in Virginia, saying: "To date, the General Assembly has not amended the specific immunizations enumerated in (state code) to include immunization for COVID-19, and boards of visitors may not exercise and implied power to require a certain vaccine when a specific statue governing vaccination excludes it."

The ruling followed a requested review of the mandate by newly-elected Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin who promised to end the state's mask mandate and vaccination requirements while on the 2021 gubernatorial campaign trail.

Since college students returned to in-person learning, universities across the country moved to institute vaccine mandates. Student groups have pushed back on the COVID-19 requirements, taking legal action against school administration.