Update: February 17, 2022
Since this message was distributed, the booster vaccination deadline for employees not covered by the New York healthcare worker mandate has been pushed back to April 30, 2022. Read the announcement.
Original Message: January 24, 2022
The University of Rochester is requiring all faculty and staff to receive a booster vaccination against the COVID-19 virus by February 21, 2022, or within 30 days of becoming eligible, if that is a later date. The CDC recommends booster shots for all eligible adults. Vaccination, especially followed by a booster, has shown to be highly effective in preventing serious illness against the Omicron variant. Additionally, New York State recently passed a booster mandate for health care workers, which covers many of our University’s employees. Our epidemiologists, public health experts, and scientists continue to stress the effectiveness and safety of COVID vaccines and we believe requiring a booster vaccination is in the best interest of the health and safety of our University community and the individual employee.
Individuals are eligible for a booster vaccination five months after completing the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna series, and two months after the initial J&J/Janssen vaccine.
Employees who received their booster dose at an Employee Health vaccine clinic in LeChase Assembly Hall or the SMH Outpatient Pharmacy are already recorded and no further action is required. Employees who have received their booster at any other location, including UR Medicine locations, will need to submit proof of the booster vaccination through the University portal. (Please note: You must be on the University’s network or VPN to access the portal.)
The University will notify eligible employees who do not have a booster on record as well as those who are not yet eligible by email in the coming days. Those with current approved exemptions will be honored and must continue to follow the protocols set by the University. Any new exemption requests must complete the steps to apply on the University portal by selecting “update status”.
As a reminder, consistent with the requirements of the state mandate and applicable laws for healthcare workers, the University maintains a process to consider reasonable accommodation requests from covered personnel based on sincerely held religious beliefs that would prevent individuals from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. However, compliance with the state mandate may significantly limit the availability of such accommodations.
The Finger Lakes COVID-19 Vaccine Hub has information on where vaccines are available across the region. The University provides four hours of paid time off for booster vaccine appointments, and one day of paid time off after receiving the booster vaccines for employees who may experience side effects.
To learn more about the University’s booster vaccine requirement, visit these FAQs.
For questions not covered in the FAQs or for other concerns, please contact your manager or your Human Resources Business Partner.
Sincerely,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor
Mark B. Taubman
CEO, University of Rochester Medical Center and Dean, School of Medicine and Dentistry
Sarah E. Peyre
Interim Provost
Kathleen Gallucci
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Office