Student vaccination reminder

Message sent July 23, 2021

Jeff Foster, Interim VP for College Life and Dean of Students, reminds students of the vaccine requirement and verification deadline of August 1, 2021.

Dear Students,

I write with a reminder regarding the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students for the Fall 2021 semester. As noted in President Iuliano’s May 20 email, all students must be vaccinated for COVID-19 or apply for and receive a College exemption for medical or religious reasons. Students who applied for an exemption by the June 15 deadline have been notified regarding the status of their exemption request.

All students must upload verification of having received a COVID-19 vaccination by August 1, 2021. Students should upload a copy of their vaccination card to Medicat, the College’s HIPPA-compliant electronic medical records system in Health Services.

Students are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the final dose of a vaccine. The College will accept vaccines approved by the FDA for emergency use authorization, including Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. The College will also accept WHO-listed vaccines, including AstraZeneca, Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. Students who have not been able to access the vaccine should contact Brad Lancaster, Director of International Student Services, at blancast@gettysburg.edu to discuss their situation including a plan to receive the vaccination upon arrival.

It is important that all Gettysburg College students upload proof of vaccination by August 1. Any student who is not approved by Health Services to enroll for the fall semester will not be permitted to return to campus. Specifically, this means that if a student, who has not already received a College exemption, fails to upload proof of their vaccination, the College will need to take the unfortunate step of withdrawing the student from their courses and housing assignment. Please know that we do not want to resort to this measure. If, for any reason, you will not be able to upload your vaccination card by August 1, please contact Sue Plank in Health Services by emailing splank@gettysburg.edu.

I look forward to seeing you all soon, and resuming many of the campus activities that we know and love. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our community safe!

Sincerely,

Jeff Foster, D.Ed.
Interim Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students