Health Center Provides COVID Safety Reminders; Fall Masking Guidance Coming Later This Month
University Health Center Director Dr. Spyridon Marinopoulos sent the following email to the campus community today:
I hope you are enjoying a healthy and safe summer break. I’m writing today with a few updates and reminders regarding our current COVID-19 requirements and protocols for the Fall 2022 semester:
- Vaccination: UMD continues to require vaccination against COVID-19 for all on-campus faculty, staff and students, including the first booster, depending on the vaccine received.
Individuals over 50 are strongly encouraged to receive a second booster per CDC guidance.- For anyone who is immunocompromised, we strongly recommend consulting with your personal physician and following CDC guidance for immunocompromised individuals on receiving all booster doses when eligible.
- Please note that the university will recognize a prior COVID-19 infection as being up-to-date for three months from the date of the infection. You can attest to a prior COVID-19 infection at return.umd.edu.
- Medical and religious exemptions continue to be available to those who qualify.
- International students should refer to additional vaccine and booster information prior to arriving on campus from outside the United States.
- Masks: Wearing a mask is not required while indoors at this time with a few exceptions. Masking guidance for the fall semester will be issued in the weeks leading up to the first day of classes.
- Testing: Students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to take a rapid antigen COVID-19 test within 24 hours before returning to campus for the fall semester. If you test positive, you should not return to campus and should isolate per CDC guidelines. This is an effort to assess the level of infection as we prepare to increase the density of our campus community; so even if you have been on campus all summer, we recommend this testing.
- COVID accommodations: In special cases, students, faculty and staff may request a disability accommodation related to COVID-19. For new accommodation requests, students may contact the Accessibility and Disability Service. Employees may contact University Human Resources regarding requests for work-related accommodations.
As a reminder, this guidance is subject to change should we experience a change in COVID-19 infection rates. We will continue to keep our community informed on updates to our health and safety policies. Please visit our COVID-19 Information Website for additional information.
Be well and stay safe,
Spyridon S. Marinopoulos, MD, MBA, FACP
Director, University Health Center
Chief Medical Officer, University of Maryland
He/Him/His