Weekly update: New vaccines, new opportunity to protect our community September 7, 2022

Key Takeaways

• ​​​​Amendments to the emergency use authorizations of the COVID-19 booster vaccines have prompted us to adjust our vaccine offerings as we continue to put the health and safety of our campus community first.
• Health Corps remains operational and stands ready to serve the UK community.
• If you test positive for COVID, follow these steps and upload your test results here. 

Campus Community, 

With a new semester under way, there are several important things to keep in mind for the health and safety of our community.  

As of Sept. 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have authorized the new bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines — an updated booster that provides protection against variants of the virus. 

How does this affect the UK community? 

• The university can no longer administer the monovalent boosters, as they are no longer FDA-approved. 
• Therefore, the Blue Box Theater vaccine location in the Gatton Student Center will be closed while our teams prepare to offer the bivalent COVID booster vaccines.
• We will begin providing the new bivalent COVID booster vaccines in the Blue Box Theater in the coming weeks. Appointments will be required until we understand the demand for booster vaccines. We will communicate the start date and the link to schedule an appointment in the coming days.
• If you currently have a booster appointment scheduled at a UK Retail Pharmacies location, your appointment will be rescheduled.
• We encourage faculty and staff to make an appointment at a UK Retail Pharmacies location if they prefer.

 Some important reminders:

• While CDC guidelines and university policies have changed, UK Health Corps remains operational and committed to providing our students and employees with support.
• Please reach out to Health Corps at 859-218-SAFE (7233) or healthcorps@uky.edu with any questions you have. You can also find more information about COVID and relevant recommendations on the CDC’s website.
• Getting vaccinated against COVID remains our best defense against this virus. As always, the university is closely monitoring the latest updates to the FDA-approved booster shots and will communicate further information as needed. Find more information on getting vaccinated here.   

If you feel ill or test positive for COVID:

• If you or someone you know is feeling ill, we strongly encourage getting tested for COVID as soon as possible. You can find testing information and locations here, or you can reach out to your primary care provider.
• If you test positive for COVID, follow these steps and upload your test results here . This will prompt a representative from UK Health Corps to reach out to you for further instructions and support. We also encourage you to reach out to your primary care provider.
• Any student who submits a positive test result and isolates as a result of their positive test result will receive an excused absence letter from Health Corps.
• Any employees or students who want documentation for any other concerns, including exposures, should reach out to their primary care provider and work directly with their supervisors or instructors.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our community healthy and safe. These steps — and your commitment to this university — are what will allow us to fulfill our promise to advance Kentucky. 

Eli Capilouto

President