UGA to require some employees to get COVID-19 vaccine, be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8

The University of Georgia is going to require the COVID-19 vaccine for select university employees — including part-time workers and students — who work with the federal government.

In an email Tuesday from UGA President Jere Morehead and other top UGA officials, the university announced that workers required to get vaccinated are those employed as part of a federal contract. 

The move comes in response to a federal executive order signed Sept. 9 by President Joe Biden requiring federal contractors to comply with COVID-19 guidance that in part requires the vaccine. 

“As a Research-1 institution, the University receives hundreds of millions of dollars annually pursuant to federal contracts. This funding is critical to our mission as a land-grant and sea-grant institution, and these new requirements apply to us as a federal contractor,” said the email.

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The deadline to be fully vaccinated is Dec. 8. One is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the final dose. There are some exemptions to the requirement, including disability and “sincerely held religious belief,” according to the email.

In order to meet the deadline, an employee would have until Wednesday to get the first dose of the Moderna vaccine, and until Nov. 3 for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Second doses would have to be received by Nov. 24.

If an employee chooses the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine, they have until Nov. 24.

Employees will have to submit proof of vaccination to the university.

The university has more than 10,800 in its workforce, according to its website. It was not immediately known by the UGA communications department Tuesday how many employees the vaccine requirement would impact. 

If a student meets those guidelines, they would also be required to get vaccinated. This would potentially include some student workers, graduate researchers and teaching assistants.

The UGA email said more information would be released in the coming weeks. Some issues yet to be explained include mask-wearing and physical distancing as well as “how we will ensure compliance with the covered employee vaccination requirement.”

Employees and visitors will have to comply with current CDC guidance on masks and distancing while in a federal-contractor workplace, but the details of which areas this applied to were not outlined as of Tuesday. The email, however, described that it will likely apply to "many areas" of the campus.

“Together, we have endeavored to keep our campus community safe and healthy while ensuring that the University’s vital mission of teaching, research, and service continues, even in the most challenging circumstances. We are particularly thankful that many of you have already chosen to be vaccinated,” said the email.