August 6, 2021

All students, faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus by Sept. 6, 2021, per a new University of California policy.  

Those who have already been fully vaccinated should follow instructions on the Vaccination Compliance page to document proof of vaccination.

The UC policy allows for medical exceptions as well as accommodations based on disability or religious belief; deferrals are also available for those who are pregnant. Those approved must follow campus guidelines, including masking, testing and daily symptom and exposure screening. Learn more about how to request an exception or deferral, which should be submitted no later than Sept. 2, 2021. 

Free COVID-19 vaccines are available at the Price Center COVID-19 Vaccination Site to all UC San Diego students, faculty and staff (including Health). Please make an appointment before arriving. Vaccination remains one of the most important ways to keep our community healthy, and all who can be vaccinated should do so as soon as possible.

What impact does the Delta variant have on our chances of achieving herd immunity? What can we do to prevent the spread of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections? And how safe are fully vaccinated individuals from the Delta variant? To address these questions and more, we spoke to Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley, professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego's School of Medicine and co-lead of the Return to Learn program. Read the full Q&A interview.

Answer: We are seeing parallel epidemics. Vaccinated people become infected much less frequently than those who have not been vaccinated. When they do get infected, they are much less likely to become ill. Many don’t even know they have been infected because their symptoms are so mild (or are non-existent). In parallel, with these mild cases in the vaccinated population, we are seeing an extremely severe outbreak of disease and death in the unvaccinated population that is just as explosive as what we saw last winter before the vaccines became available. Read more in our new Q&A with Dr. Chip Schooley.

Answer: Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines since they were authorized for emergency use by FDA. These vaccines have undergone and will continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. To learn more about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, visit the CDC website.

Answer: Soreness in the arm at the site of the shot is common. After the second vaccination, because your immune system has already seen it once, you may have a more vigorous response. Some people have a low-grade fever or feel tired for about 36 hours, but serious side effects have been extremely rare. Others don’t experience any symptoms at all. Regardless, these are mild side effects that are certainly less concerning than the prospect of becoming infected with COVID-19.

Answer: Get vaccinated, if you have not yet been vaccinated and encourage those in your family and among your friends who have not yet been vaccinated to go out and get vaccinated. Vaccinations are the number one thing we can do to keep the campus, community and our friends and family safe. When community transmission rates are substantial, as they are in San Diego at present, vaccinated people can further reduce the community transmission rate by wearing a mask when indoors or in crowds outdoors with others. We’re all in this together and we will only emerge from this pandemic if we all work together to end it. Read our new Q&A with Dr. Chip Schooley here.