Thomas College announced Wednesday that it will mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all in-person students, faculty and staff, a change in policy that reflects a growing trend among employers, universities, and health care providers in Maine and across the country.

Just three weeks ago, the private college in Waterville had said in a press release that vaccines would not be required, and that the unvaccinated would instead be subject to additional safety protocols.

But with a rise in cases sounding the alarm across the nation, the school decided to reverse its policy, citing the highly contagious delta variant and breakthrough cases among vaccinated people. 

“Given that incidence rates have risen dramatically in our region and state and given the deeper understanding that even vaccinated people can get and spread the virus, we simply have no choice but to take the steps to protect the people we care about the most – each individual in our Thomas family,” said President Laurie G. Lachance.

Those who are not fully vaccinated upon arrival on campus will be subject to a testing protocol and required to wear a mask. All students must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, though there will be limited exemptions.

“Thomas College has been monitoring the status of COVID-19 within the state and Kennebec County throughout the pandemic working closely with our partners at the Maine CDC and MaineGeneral,” said Mackenzie Riley Young, assistant director of media relations. “Earlier decisions were made with the most recent data and guidance available, at that time, surrounding positivity rate, community transmission and the Delta variant.”

The change in policy comes amid a steady rise in COVID cases and hospitalizations in Maine. Over the past seven days, Maine has averaged 149 new cases per day, up significantly from the seven-day average of just 18 cases during the first week of July.

As concern around the surge grows, employers and universities that have spent months pleading for their employees and students to get vaccinated have quickly switched gears and turned to a mandate.

The University of Maine System, for example, had originally planned on waiting until the vaccine had received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but changed course last week due to the severity of the delta variant.

Other schools in Maine, such as Bates College, the University of New England, Bowdoin College and Husson University, are also requiring vaccines for the fall semester.

In a statement to the Bowdoin community on Tuesday, Mike Ranen, COVID-19 resource coordinator, called the vaccine requirement the “cornerstone of our fall plan.”

“With the college’s vaccination rate nearing 100 percent and the vaccination rate in Brunswick above 95 percent, our community is well protected,” he said.

The story is slightly different throughout the rest of the state. Though Maine has one of the highest vaccinations rates in the country, 39 percent of the state’s 1.3 million residents remain unvaccinated (160,000 of the unvaccinated population are children under 12 who are too young to receive a shot).

And though there has been increased attention on breakthrough cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. are almost all among the unvaccinated population. The vaccine, according to public health officials, is still the best tool to fight the pandemic.

And now with a surge in cases more than a year and a half into the pandemic, employers are increasingly pushing aside their worries and utilizing that tool. 

On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills said her administration is seriously considering a vaccine mandate for all health care workers in Maine. The announcement came a day after two hospitals, Maine Medical Center in Portland and Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast, experienced small outbreaks among their staff.

Private businesses throughout Maine are also beginning to experiment with vaccination requirements for customers who want to enter their stores.

As of Wednesday there had been 71,883 total COVID-19 cases and 901 deaths linked to the virus reported by the Maine CDC.