UIC student vaccination guidelines for fall

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Earlier today, the University of Illinois System announced that all students who plan to be on campus for the fall semester 2021 will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they are able to do so. We fully support this decision and agree that it provides the maximum protection for our community as we transition to normal operations in the fall.

We are working through details about how the student vaccination requirement will be implemented at UIC. Some initial guidance is provided below with more details to follow as needed:

• Students should be fully vaccinated (14 days after completion of a vaccination series) prior to the beginning of the 2021 fall semester.
• Students who do not plan to be on campus and who will only participate in online classes are exempt from this requirement.
• UIC is following the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance and will accept all vaccines currently authorized for emergency use by either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organization (WHO).
• International students who have no access to one of the university-accepted vaccines will be able to receive an accepted vaccine upon arrival to Chicago.
• Students who are not able to be vaccinated will be required to participate in regular on-campus COVID-19 saliva testing and continue to wear a face covering.
• Students who have been infected with COVID-19 and have recovered should still get the COVID-19 vaccine after the appropriate period of time.
• Student COVID-19 vaccination records must be provided prior to the beginning of the fall semester. Further information with instructions on how to provide authorization for disclosure of vaccination records or to upload a copy of the Vaccination Record Card will be communicated soon.
• UIC will continue to provide COVID-19 vaccination services on campus for new and continuing students, with details at vaccine.uihealth.care. We also encourage students to be vaccinated in their local areas and use the vaccinefinder.org resource to find available appointments or walk-in hours near them.

We want to thank all of you who have contributed to our health and safety efforts over the last 16 months, including our ongoing vaccination campaign. Because of these efforts, we have managed to continue our operations in the safest possible way. With your current and future compliance, we are confident that a safer and healthier future is on the horizon.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Amiridis
Chancellor

Robert Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

Susan Bleasdale, MD
Acting Chief Quality Officer and Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control