New Guidance States UM Employees Should Receive Vaccines by Jan. 4

The schedule for University of Mississippi employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has changed once again, according to a message sent out Monday by Chancellor Glenn Boyce.

This is the third change to the vaccination mandate since the Institutions of High Learning voted to follow the federal Executive Order on Oct. 25.

Under new guidance released Thursday by the federal government, employees are required to receive both shots of a two-dose vaccine, or one shot of a single-dose vaccine, by Jan. 4.

“We will continue to work with employees who have shown a good faith effort to become fully vaccinated by Jan. 4,” Boyce said in the email sent to faculty and staff.

This new guidance for federal contractors should not be confused with the new COVID-19 vaccination mandate for private employers that was also issued last week. 

While the vaccination mandate for private employers was temporarily halted this weekend by a court order, it does not impact the federal contractor mandate that applies to the university. 

“We will inform you if the federal contractor mandate is halted by a court,” Boyce said.

Employees can visit the federal mandate information page of the university’s COVID-19 website to see details about how to upload vaccination cards or how to apply for accommodations.

“We have started reviewing submitted requests for religious and medical accommodations,” Boyce said.

Visit the university’s COVID-19 website to see the schedule for upcoming clinics.

Staff report