Vaccine Requirement

Vaccine Requirement Lifted

In alignment with CDC guidance and with low case rates on campus, Chatham will no longer require a COVID-19 vaccination for employees and students, effective with the start of the summer 2023 term.  Chatham continues to recommend the COVID-19 and annual flu vaccines and will support our community by once again offering clinics in the fall. Read the full campus announcement here.

Booster Deadline Extension

To help support our positive campus trends and to align with the latest health guidance on booster timing for the traditional height of cold and flu season, Chatham is extending the booster shot deadline to January 9, 2023. It takes about three weeks for booster shots to be effective, and this timing will better support students starting in the Spring term. This will also maximize protection for newly boosted individuals during January and February, which is when our campus experienced the highest rates of COVID-19 cases last year.   

All students and employees must have a waiver request or proof of booster on file by this deadline. If you are not receiving a booster for medical or religious reasons (including if you received your original vaccination shots), please complete and upload your waiver request on our web form as soon as possible.   

Vaccine Requirement for 2022-2023 Term

In alignment with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance and based on the success of the COVID-19 vaccines over the past academic year in reducing infection and severity of illness on campus, Chatham will once again require a COVID-19 vaccination for all students participating in face-to-face classes or campus activities, and for all faculty and staff for the 2022-2023 academic year.   

Chatham’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the 2022-2023 academic year is based on the CDC’s “up to date” vaccination definition, which is defined as a person having received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when required.   

As with other required vaccinations, Chatham will allow students and employees with valid medical or sincerely-held religious reasons to apply for an exemption. If a student or employee had a COVID-19 exemption during the current academic year, they must apply for a new waiver for the 2022-2023 academic year.   

Students and employees must upload proof of original COVID vaccination records (if not already on file) or waiver request by August 1, 2022.

**Booster records are due for upload no later than November 1, 2022.  **See Booster Deadline Extension above. 

This policy may be updated or modified based on any new CDC or other public health guidance that may be issued between now and August 2022. In addition, some activities, such as NCAA athletics, healthcare clinical rotations, and internships, may have additional vaccination or timing requirements as determined by the sponsoring organization, hosting site or employer.

Vaccine Questions and Information 

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and free.  We realize that people may still have questions about COVID vaccines or boosters. To help, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a number of great resources on their Vaccines for COVID-19 Website to learn more, get answers to frequently asked questions, bust myths, and more.