Emails to students and employees this week stressed the need to comply with booster mandates. This effectively refreshes the mandate requirements students and employees were asked to comply with this past fall, based on UC requirements. That mandate was met with more than a 95% vaccination rate among UCR’s students and employees.

By Jan. 31, students are asked to upload proof of a booster on their patient portal. Failure to meet vaccine requirements in the past has led to actions including exclusion from class registration.

Meeting the requirement will mean an additional technical step for some employees, in the form of a secure utility called “MyChart”. Employees who received any of their COVID-19 vaccines from UCR Health or the School of Medicine already have MyChart accounts and can click here to learn how to upload their booster information. Others will receive an email this week at their UCR email address with instructions. Because of the transition to the new employee health records system, the compliance mandate for employees has been extended to Feb. 25.

In other booster news, students will once again be able to receive vaccinations from Student Health Services. It’s welcome news for all students, including students who are living in on-campus housing during the pause on in-person instruction, which is continuing through Jan. 28. Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be offered starting around Jan. 26.

More than 3,500 students and 3,300 employees have taken COVID-19 tests since returning to campus on Jan. 3, following a UCR request to do so. On-campus, testing is done at the Bear Cave Meeting Room in the Pentland Hills residential facility.