COVID-19 Vaccine Updates Jan 26

Dear UMBC Community,

Yesterday we received notice from the University System of Maryland that Higher Education employees participating in face-to-face instruction or working on the physical campus are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under Phase 1B and Phase 1C of Maryland’s COVID-19 vaccination plan. Currently this applies to faculty, staff, and frontline contractual workers, not students. Students may be eligible for other groups based on age or if they work in healthcare settings.

Unfortunately, this eligibility does not mean you will automatically be able to receive a vaccine, as different counties have different levels of availability and distribution timelines. Vaccine supply remains very limited despite more Marylanders becoming eligible. 

We encourage all community members to sign up for the vaccine registry created by their local county health department. Any UMBC employee may also register with theBaltimore County Health Department, even if they do not live in Baltimore County. Please indicate that you are a higher education professional. Individuals who sign up should receive a scheduling notice from their health department when a vaccine is available.

We also wish to clarify that, at this time, it is vital that individuals who have received either one or both doses of a vaccine and are approved to be on campus comply with current UMBC testing, symptom tracking, and other requirements. This is based on federal and state recommendations designed to limit virus transmission. More information about the public health reasons that inform this decision can be found on our newvaccine webpage. We will also update this website as we learn more about vaccine availability and distribution.

Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our community safe and healthy. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to us at covid19@umbc.edu.

Provost Philip Rous

Vice President for Administration and Finance Lynne Schaefer

COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs