BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State University's President announced Thursday that in the near future, the institution will likely require students and faculty to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The mandate would come after the FDA fully authorizes one or more of the current COVID vaccines in use across the U.S. 

President @WFTate4 provides an important update to students for the fall semester. Please watch.

Message: https://t.co/8Bq4wCJLGI pic.twitter.com/VrmfcqWnN6

— Office of the LSU President (@LSUpresident) August 12, 2021

President William F Tate IV issued a statement on the university's website, saying: "Welcome to all of our new and returning students. Our collective experience this academic year depends on our ability to navigate the pandemic. You share in the responsibility of lowering our risk of disease spread."

"As I say in this video message, we expect the FDA to fully authorize one or more of the COVID vaccines in the next few weeks, at which point we will act swiftly to mandate it at LSU. In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to go ahead and get vaccinated now to protect yourself, your peers, and the faculty and staff who will be alongside you through your academic journey.

We look forward to seeing you soon."

The university's update on required COVID vaccinations comes shortly after pharmaceutical company Pfizer-BioNTech announced that it submitted its application for full approval of its COVID vaccine.

Health officials say the company's request is being fast-tracked due to the pandemic.

Pfizer's vaccine was the first of three COVID-19 shots the Food and Drug Administration approved for emergency use last winter.