UMB Community Members May Need to Resubmit University Vaccine Priority Form Due to New Guidance
February 02, 2021
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) COVID-19 vaccine priority form for employees and students has been updated with new questions based on updated Phases 1B and 1C guidance from the University System of Maryland and Maryland Department of Health to help better categorize our population.
If you have completed the previous form and have not received a scheduling link, please complete this updated survey since your prioritization may have changed.
Although UMB is not in possession of COVID-19 vaccines nor responsible for the allocation of vaccines, we are conducting this survey to ensure that all at UMB are properly classified in the event that vaccines become available for our faculty, staff, and students. UMB cannot guarantee that anyone at UMB will be vaccinated by virtue of completing this form. We want you to be prepared if the opportunity for vaccination becomes available. If you find that you have the opportunity to get your first vaccine dose elsewhere, please do so. The more people who get vaccinated, the safer we will all be and the faster we can be rid of COVID-19. Once vaccinated, you still must abide by UMB's COVID-19 safety protocols and testing requirements.
In addition, UMB needs the help of its community to track what proportion of our population has received a COVID-19 vaccination, whether on campus or elsewhere. This will help manage risk to our community and the need for ongoing preventive measures to control the pandemic, including limiting access to campus. UMB is encouraging but not requiring faculty, students, and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at this time.
UMB has established two ways to capture this vaccination information, with your help in reporting. You only need one of these forms to document each dose of vaccine you have received.
If you are completing the daily SAFE on Campus symptom monitoring form, you will see a new question about vaccine status. If you have not received the vaccine yet, the form will ask you about future vaccine plans. If you get the vaccine at a later date, you can provide that vaccine information in your following daily symptom monitoring form. If you have been vaccinated, the form will ask you when, what type of vaccine, where you were vaccinated, and whether you had any side effects.
If you do not fill out the daily SAFE on Campus symptom monitoring form, you can provide your vaccination information in a different form
here.
Meanwhile, most everyone can agree that getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment has been a challenge.
Logistics and supply issues are affecting states, counties, hospitals, and agencies while new phases continue to roll out at the same time clarifications are being announced about who qualifies in those phases. Plans by the federal government to rectify problems will take time to put into place before feeling the impact in individual communities where demand is greater than supply. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
noted that the state’s supply from the federal government “remains extremely limited.”
With all of these outside factors, what can you control to ensure that you’re in the best position to get the vaccine when it’s available to you? Practice patience and persistence.
Register wherever possible for vaccine interest and availability, and don’t rely on a sole provider of vaccines. Registering at multiple locations provides a contingency plan if a provider suddenly lacks doses to schedule appointments.
Where can you register? In addition to the UMB vaccine priority form, register with your city or county health department, your doctor’s hospital system, your primary care physician’s office, and private pharmacies including Giant, Safeway, Rite Aid, Walmart, and Martin’s Food stores. Visit covidvax.maryland.gov to find providers in your area.
Please balance this advice with the equitable distribution of the vaccine by only helping those in your family and friends register in their appropriate phase within their community. Some county health departments, notably Prince George’s County, have canceled appointments made by non-county residents.
If you are eligible for a vaccine, appointments might not be available if supply issues arise. Continue checking daily for openings.