Rutgers University students for now will have no choice but to comply with the university’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, a federal appeals court ruled.

The Feb. 15 decision stemmed from an appeal filed in January 2023 by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and 13 students who sued Rutgers in August 2021, arguing the mandate violated the students’ “basic right to control our bodies.”

Julio C. Gomez, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Defender that CHD and the students “are considering all options, including further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

In its ruling, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Rutgers had a rational basis for the mandate as part of efforts to curb the pandemic on campus.