COVID-19 Vaccine Information

COVID-19 vaccinations are required for all students, faculty and staff. 

• If you are vaccinated but have not yet confirmed your status with the University, please visit return.umd.edu and click “Confirm Vaccination Status” as soon as possible.
• The university has announced expectations and requirements for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated community members. See Health and Safety requirements.
• Important vaccine information for students arriving from outside the United States is available from the University Health Center.
• Affiliates coming to campus one or more days per week and interacting with UMD students, faculty, or staff are also required to be vaccinated. See guidelines for affiliates.

UMD will comply with all federal and state laws in granting appropriate exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
 
Request a Vaccine Exemption
 
See An Example Exemption Form:

• Example religious exemption form (PDF); for review only. Do not submit this example form.
• Example medical exemption form (PDF); for review only. Do not submit this example form.

For Students:
Students who are not vaccinated without an exemption will face serious and immediate consequences to their registration and enrollment status.

• Compliance for Students

 
For Faculty and Staff:
If a staff or faculty member does not comply with masking, testing or any other health and safety requirements, progressive discipline will be implemented, up to and including termination.

• Compliance for Faculty and Staff

 
If you need help with the vaccine requirement and/or compliance, please complete the COVID-19 Compliance Support Request form.

The University Health Center (UHC) is administering the Pfizer vaccine for our campus community. Appointments can be scheduled for a variety of clinic day options, and clinic days will continue to be added as needed. If there are no appointments available when you first check, please check back often, as new dates and times will be added as staffing allows.
 
Schedule an appointment at myuhc.umd.edu
 
Appointments are available to all students, faculty and staff for:

• First dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
• Second dose of the Pfizer vaccine (must be 21-42 days following an initial Pfizer dose)
• Booster Shots: Anyone on our campus who is 18+ and has completed their initial Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series at least 6 months ago or received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.
• Additional Shot: Anyone on our campus with a moderately to severely compromised immune system who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 28 days ago.
   

Where: Most clinics are held on-campus at the UHC. If a clinic location is available at another on-campus location, that will be stated within the appointment selection process.
 
Parking: Free parking is available at the Union Lane Garage for those attending the UHC clinic.
 
For questions, please contact vaccineclinic@umd.edu
 
 

All Marylanders age 5 and older are eligible for vaccination.

• Statewide: Find a vaccine clinic near you on maryland.gov
• Prince George’s County Residents and UMD Employees: Options for getting vaccinated are available on princegeorgescountymd.gov

The CDC has tools to find vaccine providers across the country.

• Visit vaccines.gov to find a vaccine clinic
• CDC en Español: Encuentre vacunas contra el COVID-19 cerca de usted

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have indicated that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 vaccines help our bodies develop immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 without us getting the illness. Different types of vaccines work in different ways to offer protection. But with all types of vaccines, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus in the future. You can learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work by visiting the CDC’s website. Currently, three vaccines are authorized and recommended in the United States to prevent COVID-19: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. The list of ingredients included in the three vaccines is available on the CDC website.

Yes. The University System of Maryland announced on April 23, 2021 that all eligible students, faculty, and staff on Maryland campuses are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the start of the fall 2021 semester. Getting vaccinated is important for our UMD campus community’s health, safety, and well-being, and we encourage all students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Students, faculty, and staff should get vaccinated as soon as possible and confirm their vaccination status at return.umd.edu by clicking “Confirm Vaccination Status”. Students who did not confirm full or partial vaccination status, or request a religious or medical exemption by Monday, August 16 at 5:00 p.m. have had their course registration canceled. To regain access to Testudo and re-register for the fall 2021 semester, confirm your status at return.umd.edu.

To Confirm Your Vaccination Status:

1. Confirm your vaccine status manually by uploading proof of vaccination to the UHC portal.
2. If the UHC has been able to automatically verify your vaccine with the state's regional database, your status will reflect that. Note that the state's regional database is not comprehensive and timely, so if you have been vaccinated and have not been automatically matched yet, don't wait - upload your proof of vaccination manually to the UHC portal.

For Partially Vaccinated Individuals: If you've had a first dose, input your first dose information manually to the UHC portal as soon as possible so you can be in Pending status.

The CDC indicates that in general, people are considered fully vaccinated:

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

Yes. UMD will comply with all federal and state laws in granting appropriate exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
 
Request a vaccine exemption for medical or religious reasons here.  UMD Central Authentication Service (CAS) login required.
 
Review samples of the exemption information:

• Example religious exemption form (PDF); for review only. Do not submit this example form.
• Example medical exemption form (PDF); for review only. Do not submit this example form.

Any students, faculty, or staff granted a vaccination exemption are required to:

• wear a mask indoors at all times and while outdoors in crowded spaces
• sign a memorandum acknowledging the health risks of being unvaccinated
• comply with regular, twice-a-week on-campus COVID-19 testing

Yes, the CDC indicates that you should be vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Evidence suggests that natural immunity may not last as long, and that immunity from vaccines may be more robust and last longer. Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible that you could become re-infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 after your immunity wanes.

Yes. All students, faculty, or staff coming to campus are required to be vaccinated.

Those who have been fully vaccinated and do not have symptoms will not need to be tested regularly.  

Note: Anyone not fully vaccinated will need to get tested twice weekly and attest the results at return.umd.edu. 

In Maryland

All Marylanders age 12 and older are eligible for vaccination.

• Find a vaccination clinic near you on maryland.gov .
• Prince George’s County Residents and UMD Employees: Individuals who live or work in the county can make an appointment for their first dose of the vaccine or find a clinic for walk-in vaccinations. Options for getting vaccinated are available on princegeorgescountymd.gov

Outside the State of Maryland

The CDC has tools to find vaccine providers across the country.

• Visit vaccines.gov to find a vaccination clinic.
• CDC en Español: Encuentre vacunas contra el COVID-19 cerca de usted

If you need help with the vaccine requirement and/or compliance, please complete the COVID-19 Compliance Support Request form.
Please visit umd.edu/4Maryland for up-to-date UMD COVID-19 information. If you have additional questions, please email healthconcerns@umd.edu.

Students who did not confirm full or partial vaccination status, or request a religious or medical exemption by Monday, August 16 at 5:00 p.m. have had their course registration canceled. To regain access to Testudo and re-register for the fall 2021 semester, confirm your status at return.umd.edu. You will be blocked from registering for courses for the fall 2021 semester and beyond until you are compliant with the vaccine mandate.

Students who are not in compliance with the campus’ vaccination requirement may have their class registrations canceled and will not be allowed to move in or live in university-owned residence halls or Chapter Houses. Further, students not in compliance will be denied access to all university-owned buildings and campus services, including, but not limited to, academic buildings, dining and RecWell facilities, libraries, and The Stamp.  

All students living in the university-owned residence halls and fraternity/sorority chapter houses must be fully vaccinated (i.e., a completed vaccine regimen plus 14 days after your final vaccine dose) or have an approved religious or medical exemption before arriving on campus for their move-in appointment.
Residents who are not in full compliance with the vaccination requirements will not be issued keys or allowed to check in.

• Residence hall students should check their Arrival Passport before coming to campus to ensure they are cleared for check-in.
• Students living in an on-campus fraternity or sorority house should ensure their vaccination status is green and they are cleared to come to campus at return.umd.edu under "Check My Status."