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Employee update: Vaccine eligibility expands; how to make an appointment

April 7, 2021

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  • Vaccine eligibility expands
  • How to make a vaccination appointment
  • After you are fully vaccinated

As we enter the final weeks of the semester, we can celebrate important signs of progress in the fight against COVID-19:

  • More than 15,000 employees and students have received at least one dose of vaccine
  • This week, we expect to surpass 10,000 students and employees who have been excused from routine campus COVID-19 testing because they are fully vaccinated (at least 2 weeks past receiving a one-dose vaccine or the second dose of a two-dose vaccine)
  • Nearly half of people 16 and over in Dane County have received at least one dose of vaccine – the county expects that number could reach 80 percent by May 5

While being fully vaccinated opens up more safe activities, until more of our campus community has been fully vaccinated, it’s important for everyone – including those who are fully vaccinated – to continue taking precautions, such as wearing face coverings and practicing physical distancing.

This is especially important as we are beginning to see a rise in cases on and off campus and highly contagious variants of COVID-19 continue to spread both nationally and within Wisconsin.

Vaccine eligibility expands

This week, everyone who lives, works or studies in Wisconsin and is at least 16 years old is eligible to make an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination.

We strongly encourage you to seek COVID-19 vaccination. This not only protects you, it also protects those around you, including people at risk of severe illness or death. Vaccination is free to anyone living in the United States, regardless of their immigration or health status.

How to make a vaccination appointment

  • We encourage you to seek vaccines anywhere they are offered, including pharmacies and health care providers throughout the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a vaccine search tool.
  • Sign up for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services registry. Once you are registered, DHS will email you with off-campus appointment options. They will not email you about appointment options on campus.
  • UHS is also offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments, though we continue to receive a limited supply of vaccines from the state and cannot offer as many appointments as we would like. UHS will not email you when an appointment is available – you must visit the MyUHS portal to make an appointment. Whenever possible, you will be able to select which vaccine you would prefer (based on availability at the time you search).
  • If no UHS appointments are available the first time you check, please continue to check; appointments are added as vaccine becomes available. New appointments often become available mid-week. Sometimes the MyUHS portal will also have information on off-campus appointments.

After you are fully vaccinated

  • If you are vaccinated on campus, your vaccination record will be available in your MyUHS portal. You will not need to take additional action to be exempt from routine campus testing.
  • If you are vaccinated off campus, please upload your vaccination record to MyUHS once completing your vaccination series. It may take up to 5 business days for your record to be reflected in MyUHS. By sharing your record, you help campus leaders understand how much of the campus community is protected and enhance decision-making about campus operations.
  • Your exemption from routine campus COVID-19 testing will take effect two weeks after your last dose of vaccine.

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