Daily COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring Ends July 1; Campus Vaccine Clinic Scheduled Next Week

Patty Perillo, vice president for student affairs, and Dr. Spyridon S. Marinopoulos, University Health Center director, sent the following email to the campus community today:

We hope you are well and enjoying the summer. Since the last campus update we shared in late May, our campus COVID-19 positivity rates have fallen to near zero while our COVID-19 vaccination rates have remained high. As a result, we have decided to make an immediate change in our campus expectations.

Removal of daily symptom monitoring requirement
To coincide with Gov. Larry Hogan's declaration that the state's COVID-19 restrictions will end on July 1, we will stop the daily symptom monitoring requirement for all campus community members effective this Thursday, July 1. Given that we have had nearly zero positive COVID-19 cases on campus during June and almost 68% of our campus population is fully vaccinated, tracking symptoms is no longer critical for our campus public health. All other campus requirements remain in effect.

Despite this change, the pandemic is not over. All students, faculty and staff must continue to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms. If you have symptoms or feel ill, please contact the HEAL line for advice and to arrange testing, and isolate at home until you feel better.

Vaccine mandate
The vaccine expectation for all students, faculty and staff remains in effect, and with the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, is more important than ever. The Delta variant, which is more contagious and can cause more severe symptoms than previous variants, has been spreading in the United States, and those who are unvaccinated are particularly at risk. If you have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated, it is critical to do so now.

All community members need to be fully vaccinated by Aug. 2. This means that next week is the last week to receive your first dose of a two-dose vaccine series (Moderna or Pfizer).

Vaccine clinic on campus
For those who have not been fully vaccinated, the University Health Center has Pfizer vaccine appointments available to all students, faculty and staff July 7-8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please log on to myUHC.umd.edu to make an appointment.

Additional plans and expectations for the fall semester will be disseminated soon. Our staff are available to support you. If you have questions about the vaccine requirement, you can review a list of frequently asked questions on the COVID-19 Vaccine Information webpage or email healthconcerns@umd.edu.

We hope you have a restful, safe, and wonderful remainder of the summer.

Stay healthy and be well,

Patty Perillo
Vice President for Student Affairs
She/Her/Hers

Spyridon S. Marinopoulos, MD, MBA, FACP
Director, University Health Center
Chief Medical Officer, University of Maryland
He/Him/His