COVID Update: Flu Vaccine | COVID-19 Vaccination | Interim Travel Policy

It’s hard to believe, but in just over 40 days we will begin welcoming new and returning students to campus. While the volume and pace of our campus updates have slowed dramatically, please know that our Syracuse University Public Health Team, as well as hundreds of staff members, continue to work to ready our campus for a safe and productive 2021-22 academic year. With that in mind, I write today to share three important updates, including:

1.   Flu Vaccine

2.   COVID-19 Vaccination

3.   Interim Travel Policy

Flu Vaccine: In consultation with the medical team at the Barnes Center at The Arch and the University’s Public Health Team, the University will again expect all members of our campus community who plan to routinely access campus during the 2021-22 academic year to receive the flu vaccine. While increasing COVID vaccination rates and the lifting of public health restrictions have marked a positive signal to a return to pre-pandemic life, we must remain vigilant and take every precaution to support the health and well-being of the campus community. Vaccination continues to be the best protection against illness and obtaining the flu vaccine helps our community reduce the impact of respiratory illness and make early diagnoses of COVID-19 more likely. To support our community in getting vaccinated against the flu, the Barnes Center at The Arch will offer flu clinics in the fall semester, once the current year flu vaccine becomes available. Students, faculty and staff will also have the option to obtain the vaccine through another medical provider or pharmacy. As we have more information, including the dates of the clinics, we will notify the campus community.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: Effective June 1, all students, faculty and staff accessing campus are required to have the COVID-19 vaccination. The only exemption to this requirement is an approved medical or religious exemption. Unvaccinated members of the campus community must continue to wear a mask on campus and participate in weekly surveillance testing. As a reminder, as per New York State Department of Health guidelines, masks continue to be required for all faculty, staff and students—regardless of vaccination status—in health care facilities, including Barnes Health and the Kimmel COVID Testing Center.

For students, COVID-19 vaccination records should be submitted to the Student Patient Portal. Students who do not submit their vaccination record will not be able to select a move-in pass, move into their residence hall or access course registration.

·         Incoming Students: The deadline to submit vaccination records was July 1, along with all other required health and immunization records. If you have not yet submitted your records, please do so as soon as possible in the Patient Portal to avoid holds on your account.

·         Returning Students: Please submit your records to the Patient Portal by Aug. 1 to allow for adequate processing time. Students who plan to access campus before Aug. 1 must have their COVID-19 vaccination record submitted prior to accessing campus.

If you have questions about your vaccination record, please contact the Barnes Center at The Arch at 315.443.8000.

Faculty and staff should continue to use the COVID-19 Vaccine Status Attestation Questionnaire if their vaccination status has changed.

Interim Travel Safety Policy: With the end of New York’s state of emergency and the discontinuation of state limits on travel for those who are vaccinated, effective July 19, 2021, the University will adapt its interim travel safety policy to allow non-essential domestic travel. All those proposing domestic travel for University business purposes (faculty, staff or student) may do so without constraint. All domestic travelers should continue to register their business travel through the University’s travel registry, except for those engaging in official travel for Athletics, club sports or Marching Band who register their travel through other means. For those with approved exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccination, the University requires strict adherence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for travelers. Please note that all usual approval processes for the purposes of responsible budget management should be followed.

International travel remains for essential purposes only. Processes currently in place for review of international research, academic, employee and student group travel continue as previously announced.

·         For International Research: For requests involving proposed travel for research purposes, interested parties are asked to seek a waiver to travel internationally through the Office of the Vice President for Research. Information on that process can be found on the Office of Research website.

·         For International Faculty/Staff Business Travel: International travel for non-essential University business (e.g., conferences) remains prohibited. Request to travel for essential purposes should follow the procedures provided by Human Resources.

·         International Student Organization Travel: Requests made by students to travel internationally as part of their participation in a registered student organization should be directed to Rob Hradsky in the Office of the Vice President for the Student Experience at rhradsky@syr.edu.

·         For Academic Purposes: International academic travel may only be deemed essential if, in the judgment of the dean of the school or college, the activity is essential to a designated course of study and no reasonable alternative exists that does not involve international travel.

Please be reminded that any student, faculty or staff member approved to travel must register with the University’s travel registry. Questions may be directed to Seth Tucker in the Office of Global Safety and Support at satucker@syr.edu or 315.443.1968.

Syracuse University continues to be a special place to live, learn and work. It’s our people that make this community what it is. Keeping in mind that we all come from different backgrounds, cultures and parts of the world, I remind you how important it is to support each other as we work to get back to pre-pandemic life. You will likely continue to see many of your peers, classmates and colleagues wearing masks. Please show these individuals your kindness and understanding as electing to wear a mask—whether for a health or comfort reason—is each person’s choice regardless of vaccination status.

Wishing you continued rest and adventure this summer.

Sincerely,