Today we are announcing that UMass Medical School will implement a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all UMMS faculty and staff.
This step reflects our highest priority, which is to protect the health and safety of our campus and broader communities. The decision follows months of thoughtful deliberation and monitoring of the pandemic; evaluation of data, including infection trends; and, more recently, the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The requirement for faculty and staff is consistent with our previously announced vaccination requirement for students and will also apply to all vendors and visitors who work on or come to campus.
Consistent with existing policy, medical and religious accommodations will be considered. Please read this entire message closely for important dates and details related to the requirement.
COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
This requirement applies to all faculty and staff employees of UMass Medical School, regardless of whether you are working on campus, in a hybrid model or remotely.
To comply with the UMMS COVID-19 vaccine requirement, all faculty and staff who are not yet fully vaccinated must receive the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine (or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine), and provide documentation no later than September 7, 2021, at 5 p.m.
Those who receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines must receive their second dose and provide documentation no later than October 8.
Proof of vaccination for those faculty and staff who are already vaccinated must be provided to UMMS by August 12. Instructions are below. Soon, managers of any faculty and staff who fail to comply with this deadline will be notified and, if vaccination documentation is not provided to UMMS by September 7 at 5 p.m., the employee’s ID badge will be deactivated, restricting access to campus, and the employee must consult with their manager to determine if the Work from Home policy is feasible until the employee can be vaccinated. Employees who have not received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by September 7 may be subject to employer actions up to and including termination.
Proof of vaccination
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card” that you receive when you are vaccinated will serve as proof of your vaccination. Fully vaccinated individuals who received World Health Organization-approved vaccines elsewhere can document this via the UMMS ServiceNow portal.
If you have already uploaded your proof of vaccination, we thank you for taking this important step to protect the health of our community. No further action is required at this time.
If you have not already provided vaccination documentation, you must do so by August 12, 2021.
Dually employed physicians, residents and fellows who need access to non-clinical spaces in the Medical School for educational purposes will need to submit proof of vaccination by September 7 or lose access to these areas. Residents and fellows should follow instructions from the Office of Graduate Medical Education; students have been provided instructions separately.
Please complete the following steps prior to 5 p.m. on August 12:
- Log into the UMMS ServiceNow portal using the mobile app or web browser and follow the steps to upload images of the front and back of your vaccination record.
- If you are unable to access ServiceNow, you may take your CDC vaccination record to the Faculty Conference Room or you may email images of the front and back of your vaccine card to Theresa.kane@umassmed.edu
- Once your vaccination record has been uploaded and you are fully vaccinated (defined as 14 days after the final dose), you must go to the Faculty Conference Room to obtain a green sticker and place this sticker on your UMMS ID badge as proof of vaccination.
Access to Vaccination
COVID-19 vaccines are widely available. You can find a location and schedule a shot at https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/.
Medical or Religious Exemptions
Faculty and staff who wish to request a medical or religious exemption based on a medical contraindication or sincerely held religious belief may do so prior to September 7. Exemption requests will require the employee to submit supporting documentation.
To request a medical exemption, faculty and staff may send a request with a letter from their health care provider to Employee Health Services at employee_health_covid-19_mailbox@umassmemorial.org.
To request a religious exemption, faculty and staff should email Matthew Lyford in UMMS Human Resources (matthew.lyford@umassmed.edu).
All requests for exemption must be received by Tuesday, September 7.
Additional Resources and Information
In requiring vaccination for faculty, staff and students, UMMS is upholding its responsibility as an academic health sciences institution to apply scientific evidence and ensure that we are taking all practical measures to protect our community. The CDC advises that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing severe infection, hospitalization, and death: this is true even for the Delta variant.
Even if you are vaccinated, you are still required to follow the current campus COVID-19 protocols, including wearing a mask while indoors, participating in surveillance testing if you are on campus one or more days per week and following guidance on hygiene, isolation and quarantine. These and other safety measures have helped UMMS maintain a low positivity rate of 0.15 percent, or 161 positive test results from the 105,861 tests administered as of August 9, 2021.
Additional information is available on the Medical School’s coronavirus updates web page. Questions may be directed to the Chancellor’s Hotline at 508-856-3000 or chancellorhotline@umassmed.edu.
Remember, if you are feeling sick, please stay home and contact Employee Health Services at 508-793-6400. Our collective health is of the utmost importance
