![OSU employees who were granted personal exemptions to being vaccinated for COVID-19 must get vaccinated or secure a medical or religious exemption by November 24. [Nick Evans / WOSU]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4b182dc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5873x3651+0+0/resize/840x522!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2021%2F11%2F1051598973_1676475147.jpg)
An executive order from President Joe Biden has prompted The Ohio State University to no longer allow its employees to apply for certain exemptions to the university's vaccination requirement.
Since OSU announced its vaccination requirement in August, it has allowed for three types of exemptions: medical, religious, or personal. The university announced Tuesday it can no longer allow its employees to have personal exemptions due to the Executive Order on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors issued by the White House in September.
The order applies to all OSU employees and student employees, as well as universities and employers across the country that have contracts with the federal government. The university also followed guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.
OSU employees who were granted personal exemptions received a message from the university on Monday that they must get vaccinated or apply for a medical or religious exemption by Nov. 24.
OSU spokesman Ben Johnson said about 780 employees and 150 student employees applied for personal exemptions, which is out of about 6,000 total requests. More than 95,000 students and employees at OSU have been vaccinated.
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