What You Need to Know: Vaccine Information
Striving for community immunity allows us to continue opening our campuses and resuming pre-pandemic activities.
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This content will be added to and updated throughout the year.
Overview
- WVU will resume pre-pandemic campus programming this fall.
- The University strongly recommends all students and employees be vaccinated for COVID-19. Reasons to Get Vaccinated
- At this time, students and employees are not required to be vaccinated. The University will reevaluate vaccination requirements upon FDA approval.
- Vaccinated students and employees must verify their vaccination by Aug. 1 by entering their information in the Vaccine Verification System, available through Star Rez (WVU’s housing portal) at myhousing.wvu.edu. View full instructions (PDF).
- Those who received the vaccine from a WVU or WVU Medicine vaccine clinic are still responsible for verifying their vaccine status by Aug. 1.
- Students, faculty or staff who believe they are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons may apply for an exemption and accommodation.
- Employees can fill out a modification request or email coronavirus
modification .@mail.wvu.edu - Students should contact Accessibility Services at 304-293-6700 or access2@mail.wvu.edu.
- Employees can fill out a modification request or email coronavirus
- If you have questions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, speak with your primary care physician or a representative from WVU Medicine Student Health.
- Mask requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals
Current Vaccination Rates
- 36.14%
Faculty/Staff - 25.33%
Students
Our best defense against COVID-19 is for everyone to get vaccinated. Vaccination rates are updated Tuesdays by 2 p.m.
Want these rates to increase? Tell us that you're vaccinated. If you're not vaccinated, get vaccinated.
Last updated on June 15, 2021.
Vaccination Incentive Program
WVU's vaccination incentive program, which will begin July 1, is intended to increase the number of students, faculty and staff who verify their vaccination information by the Aug. 1 deadline.
Incentives include, but are not limited to:
- Free Chick-fil-A
- Free Starbucks
- Free meal plans, Mountie Bounty and Dining Dollars
- Adventure WV trips
- Guaranteed football or basketball student season tickets
- Free textbooks for a semester
- Barnes & Noble shopping spree
- $500 deposit into a student organization of choice
- Dinner for 6 with President Gordon Gee at Blaney House
- Additional WVU prize packs
Those who have verified their vaccine will be randomly selected throughout July to receive a variety of these giveaways. Winners will be notified via email. Official rules and a finalized list of giveaways will be available by Thursday, July 1.
If the University reaches a 70% vaccination verification rate by Aug. 1, the University is also committed to holding a large concert like FallFest at some point this academic year.
Learn more about vaccination deadlines, where to go to get vaccinated and the program in the story on WVUToday.
Find Vaccines
Those who have yet to be vaccinated, but would like to be, can find available vaccination appointments at vaccines.gov. Vaccines continue to be readily available across the country.
The last possible dates to receive a first shot in time to verify full vaccination by Aug. 1 are:
- Moderna: Saturday, July 3 (since July 4 is a holiday and many vaccination locations may be closed)
- Pfizer: Sunday, July 11
- Johnson & Johnson: Sunday, Aug. 1
Questions or Concerns?
We understand you may be hesitant to take a vaccine. If you have concerns, please speak to a health care provider to learn more.
You may contact WVU Medicine Student Health at 304-285-7200 or reach out to your primary care physician.
Reasons to Get Vaccinated
- You will help the WVU community safely resume pre-pandemic activities this fall.
- You will not be required to undergo campus re-entry testing or surveillance testing for fall 2021.
- You don’t need to quarantine if you’re exposed to someone with COVID-19 (unless you have symptoms).
- Travel becomes much easier. You can visit areas outside West Virginia without having to quarantine for five days upon your return. As you think about traveling for vacations, you’ll also be better protected on mass transportation like planes and trains.
- You can safely hug your fully vaccinated family members without fear of spreading the virus. When you’re around them after being fully vaccinated, data is beginning to show that vaccines may protect you from passing the virus to others.
- Campus events will resume at 100% capacity this fall. If you’re vaccinated, you can attend more in-person events without fear of contracting COVID-19.
- You can visit the gym, workout around others and feel safer to do so.
- If you do get COVID-19, we know vaccinations help keep you out of the hospital.
- The faster we get vaccinated, the faster we can all lose those masks in all settings.
- These vaccines are proven to be safe and effective; the science that helped create the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines has been around for decades.
- You will join a list of people that grows by the millions each day in the country who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Stop the Spread
Personal accountability is the key to our safe return to campus. Do your part to keep everyone safe.
Do Your PartAsk a Question
We’ll continue adding information on different topics, so check this site frequently for updates. If you can’t find the info you need, submit a question or email returntocampus@mail.wvu.edu.
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