January 15, 2021

Vice Provost for Research Update on Vaccination of 91̽»¨Researchers

Many of you have questions about vaccination of 91̽»¨researchers, how that will be prioritized, and how it will be accomplished.  Priorities are determined on the federal level by the CDC and are interpreted on the state level by the Department of Health.  91̽»¨Medicine very closely follows instructions from the Washington Department of Health. Unfortunately at this time, there is not yet enough information from the Department Of Health to provide definitive answers regarding vaccination of 91̽»¨researchers. Governor Inslee recently announced an outline of  for Phase 1 Tiers A and B, which does not yet prioritize most researchers.

One group of 91̽»¨researchers is currently eligible for vaccination through 91̽»¨Medicine as part of their :  those who work in a clinical setting including inpatient and outpatient clinics and dentistry clinics, who interact directly with patients, or who handle COVID-19 samples/virus as part of research activities. If you do not already have such researchers in the queue for 91̽»¨Medicine vaccination appointments, you can request information at this email address:  uwvaccineliaison@uw.edu.  Note that all 91̽»¨researchers meeting this definition are eligible, including students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. Please coordinate within your units to identify and list the groups/personnel that are eligible for vaccination at this time. The 91̽»¨Medicine Vaccine liaison group will provide you with instructions to send to only those individuals who are eligible. The instructions may not be shared or forwarded to others and 91̽»¨Medicine will be checking those who register to ensure they are approved by the unit head. Note that the Washington Department of Health has confirmed that this priority group does not include veterinary clinical settings.

The priority for other 91̽»¨researchers will not be clear until the State releases new guidelines. How these later vaccinations will occur is also not clear, as that will likely involve the State, the City, and the County and may vary depending on your health care provider.  Please access the sites noted below for more information, and we will be providing new information as it becomes available.

For now, researchers should be patient and continue to follow the guidelines and precautions for in-person research that we know are effective.

More information on COVID-19 vaccinations:

CDC guidelines

UWM information on vaccines

WA State DOH information on vaccines

National Academies Report on Vaccination (summary available for free)