Booster Shots and Spring Public Health Protocols for Employees

Bill Brady, vice chancellor and chief human resources officer, and John McCarthy, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, emailed faculty and staff earlier this week announcing COVID-19 booster shots will be required for all eligible faculty and staff.

Dear Colleagues-

As the CDC is now recommending COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for everyone over the age of 18, the university will require all eligible faculty and staff to get a vaccine booster. With the expected continued emergence of new COVID-19 variants, full vaccination, including boosters are the most effective protection against COVID-19. Your eligibility for a booster starts 6 months after your second Moderna or Pfizer shot or 2 months after your Johnson and Johnson shot. Approved religious or medical exemptions to the vaccination mandate will continue to be in effect. Employees are eligible to receive release time to get their booster shot and are also entitled to time off due to any vaccination side effects.

Recently, the Chancellor sent out a message to students informing them that they too will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster. That message outlines the health and safety protocols that students are expected to follow for the spring semester, including required vaccine boosters, pre-semester testing protocols, and face covering requirements. We are forwarding this message to you as it is important that you have information related to the steps the university continues to take to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within the campus community.

With the holiday season upon us, we also want to encourage all faculty and staff to visit the Public Health Promotion Center in the Campus Center for COVID-19 testing or make use of our convenient, unobserved COVID-19 testing program. December is a time for indoor social and family gatherings, which may increase exposure to COVID-19. Regular testing, particularly after situations of possible exposure, are critical to the mitigation of community spread.

We thank you for all of your hard work and dedication this semester and we look forward to a successful spring.

Bill Brady
Vice Chancellor and Chief Human Resources Officer

John McCarthy
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs