December 30, 2021
To: Faculty, Other Academic Appointees, Postdoctoral Researchers, and Staff
From: Ka Yee C. Lee, Provost, and Katie Callow-Wright, Executive Vice President of the University and Chief of Staff in the Office of the President
Subject: Steps to Confirm COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Status
Date: December 30, 2021
As announced on December 20, 2021, the University is requiring every employee to receive a COVID-19 booster shot once they are eligible, unless they have an approved exemption. We write today to outline the process to submit proof of receiving a booster shot or apply for an approved exemption.
To meet the booster shot requirement, University employees who are currently eligible for a booster must, by January 31, 2022, take one of the following steps:
- Upload proof of receiving a booster shot by logging into the my.WellnessPortal and following these steps. If you received your booster at UChicago Medicine or UChicago Student Wellness, you still need to upload your vaccine card/record using this system.
- Apply for a medical or religious exemption by completing and submitting the corresponding form. If you previously received a medical or religious exemption, you do not need to submit another form. Employees who recently tested positive for COVID-19 can receive a 90-day exemption from the booster requirement by emailing a copy of their test results to c19exemptionrequest@uchicago.edu.
- Apply or reapply for a remote-only exemption by completing and submitting this form. Individuals must re-apply for remote-only exemptions no later than fourteen (14) days before they expire. Remote-only means that you will not have access to University facilities in the Chicago area.
Employees who are not yet eligible to receive a booster:
Individuals are eligible to receive a booster shot six months after completing the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine series, or two months after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Employees are required to receive a booster shot or seek an exemption within 30 days of becoming eligible. If your vaccination included a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization but not the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, you should be eligible to receive a booster shot after six months as described on the booster information page of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once you become eligible and receive a booster shot, upload the record information using the steps above.
Employees who are not fully vaccinated (including a booster) due to an approved exemption are subject to mandatory weekly testing requirements if they access University facilities in the Chicago area for any reason and at any frequency. Employees who do not take one of the steps to become compliant with this requirement are subject to disciplinary consequences, including the termination of employment.
COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are readily available in the U.S. from pharmacies and other local providers, and it is often easiest to schedule a booster appointment there. You can find a nearby vaccine site by visiting vaccines.gov.
More than 96% of employees are fully vaccinated, and booster shots will help us continue protecting the health and safety of our campus and neighboring communities. Thank you for your commitment to limit the spread of COVID-19.