Former UVA employees fired due to previous COVID-19 vaccine mandate can reapply

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Governor Glenn Youngkin’s latest COVID-19 action plan no longer requires vaccination in public colleges and universities.

This is a change from former Governor Ralph Northam’s rule. University of Virginia Spokesperson Brian Coy says the previous vaccinate-or-test with exemption rule was in place to ensure safety.

People fired from UVA for not getting a COVID-19 shot now have a new choice to make: “We’re not particularly reaching out to folks, but we’ve given the discretion to managers if they would like to rehire people, or their folks to reapply for jobs, that that would be fine for them to do,” Coy said.

Coy says they can choose to re-apply, regardless of their vaccination status, and wait to see if they’re re-hired.

Despite the change, UVA still supports vaccination.

“Such a high percentage of our workforce and our students are fully vaccinated. We encourage everyone to continue to get vaccinated or to get boosted if you haven’t already done so. But we do recognize the governor’s directive,” Coy said.

This new policy does not apply to UVA Health. In a statement from the health system, it says due to federal mandates it still requires its employees to be vaccinated.

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