University of Illinois Springfield Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney sent the following message to UIS students, faculty and staff on June 16, 2021:
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff —
For the past 15 months, our UIS family has been committed to adhering to our United in Safety guidelines to prioritize health and safety. I appreciate how seriously each of you has taken these directives.
As you know, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health have relaxed their recommendations for wearing face coverings and social distancing for fully vaccinated individuals in most settings. Several higher education institutions have made the decision to adhere to this guidance.
After careful consideration and in consultation with many members of the UIS community, I am pleased to share that, effective today, UIS students, faculty and staff who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have uploaded their vaccination record to Medicat (instructions here) are no longer required to wear a face covering or social distance indoors or outdoors on UIS property or as part of university-sanctioned events, except in the following circumstances:
- All instructional spaces for Summer 2021 courses (classrooms, labs)
- Health-care settings (UIS COVID-19 Testing Site, UIS Health Services)
- Child-care settings (Cox Child Care Center)
For these spaces, face coverings will continue to be required of ALL individuals, regardless if they are vaccinated.
Students, faculty and staff who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a face covering, social distance and participate in weekly COVID-19 testing in alignment with our United in Safety guidelines.
I recognize this is a personal decision for many of us, and UIS continues to support individuals who continue to use face coverings, practice social distancing and/or participate in testing, even if fully vaccinated.
Please read the full policy here. We will address questions at our 1 p.m. briefing tomorrow, June 17.
I strongly encourage everyone who can be vaccinated to do so. To find an appointment, visit SCDPH.org or vaccines.gov.
United in Safety,
Karen M. Whitney, Ph.D.
Interim Chancellor
University of Illinois Springfield