Novel coronavirus information

February 9, 2022

Vaccine booster requirement for UW Medicine employees except those in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine (Message to UW Medicine personnel)

This message was sent to UW Medicine personnel.

To the UW Medicine Community,

In our ongoing effort to create a safer environment for our patients, visitors, and staff, and based on the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UW Medicine is requiring that all employees – except for those in non-clinical roles in the School of Medicine – receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot or complete a declination process by Friday, March 4, 2022.

If you are not eligible to receive a booster by then – i.e., if it has not been at least five months since you completed the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine series, or at least two months since you received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine – you will be required to receive a booster or complete the declination process within 10 days of becoming eligible.

New hires who start after March 4, 2022, and are eligible to receive a booster, will have 10 business days from their official start date to meet the requirement.

Boosters are required for all observers, volunteers, and students in our clinical environments.

Employees who received an approved exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate last year are not required to get the booster and do not need to complete the declination process.

We are asking for your support in achieving full compliance with this initiative, just as we do every year with the influenza prevention program.

We know that boosters greatly increase protection against COVID-19 infection and severe illness, and we are grateful that most UW Medicine employees already have received their booster shots.

In launching this booster campaign, we are prioritizing your safety and the safety of our patients, as we’ve seen the effectiveness of a primary vaccine series typically begins to wane after about five to six months.

If you have not yet received your booster shot and would like to schedule one, you can do so easily.

To schedule your booster:

To confirm compliance, our hospital-based Employee Health teams will be reaching out directly in the coming weeks to those employees who do not yet have a booster shot on record and sharing instructions for how to submit proof online and how to complete the declination process. If you have questions in the meantime, please email them to boost-uwm@uw.edu.

Non-clinical employees in the School of Medicine should continue to follow vaccination guidance from UW Environmental Health & Safety.

We saw from the latest surge how fast highly transmissible coronavirus variants like Omicron can move through a population – and the incredible strain that can put on all aspects of our health system.

Please make it a priority to get boosted as soon as you are eligible. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

Sincerely,

Lisa Brandenburg
President, UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics
Vice President for Medical Affairs
University of Washington

Timothy H. Dellit, MD
Chief Medical Officer, UW Medicine
Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs,
UW School of Medicine
Vice President for Medical Affairs,
University of Washington and
President, UW Physicians