Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey doesn’t plan to change current requirements for MMR vaccines despite his move this week to block state university requirements for students to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Press aide C.J. Karamargin told Capitol Media Services that’s because the MMR vaccines are in a different category.

"Those vaccines are part of a schedule of vaccines that have gone through the full FDA approval process. The COVID vaccines have not," Karamargin said.

However, unlike the MMR vaccines, nothing in the now-overturned policies of the state universities actually required students to get inoculated against COVID-19.

At both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, unvaccinated students and those who refused to disclose their status still had the right to attend classes, provided they were tested at least once a week and agreed to wear face coverings. And Northern Arizona University dealt with the issue simply by requiring all students to wear masks.

The COVID-19 vaccines are authorized under the FDA’s emergency use authorization, and Karamargin reiterates that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe. The state health director, Dr. Cara Christ, agrees.

"These vaccines have been through the exact same clinical trials as all of the other vaccines,'' Christ said. The emergency authorization process, she said, simply cuts down on the "bureaucratic requirements.''

Both Pfizer and Moderna have applied for full authorization. But Karamargin would not answer whether Ducey will rescind his order when the vaccines get full Food and Drug Administration approval.