COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force |
Dear Bruin Community:
We write today to share the news that UCLA employees, including students employed by the university and those who work in our PreK-12 facilities, are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
To the extent that supplies allow, employees will be invited to schedule vaccination appointments through UCLA Health. Invitations will be sent with priority given to members of our community based on the level of contact they have with on-site individuals, the variety of work locations they visit and where they fall on a social vulnerability index developed by UCLA researchers. Please note that at this time students who are not employed by the university are not eligible for the vaccine in California, but we remain committed to offering these students the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
Employees may also book vaccination appointments via California’s My Turn portal, which allows individuals to schedule appointments at locations throughout the state close to where they live. We encourage everyone in the UCLA community to get the vaccine as early as possible, wherever that may be. For most, it may be faster to schedule an appointment through My Turn since the number of doses UCLA is expected to receive will be far fewer than the number of eligible employees.
If you participate through My Turn you may need to bring documentation (PDF) to your vaccination appointment consisting of a photo ID, proof that you work in the education sector and, if participating in an L.A. County site, proof that you live in L.A. County. If you will be receiving your vaccination at another location, please be sure that you are aware of any employment or residential documentation that may be required at that site. Any student workers who do not have a traditional paystub may obtain a verification letter through their Principal Investigator or other supervisor.
While opening up vaccination to workers in the educational sector — as well as food and agriculture workers and those in emergency services — is great news for our community, it is important to note that the process of vaccinating everyone in this new tier will take some time. Our ability to distribute doses of the vaccine is dependent on the supply, which is quite limited at this time. This weekend’s news that the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson has been authorized for emergency use may help pave the way for accelerated production of vaccines and their distribution to our communities.
Though UCLA Health is currently continuing with its vaccine rollout plan that prioritizes those in our community who are more vulnerable to receive vaccines first, this rollout plan will be changing due to new state guidance. The state has modified its distribution plan, which required UC to enter into an agreement with Blue Shield (the state’s third-party administrator for vaccine distribution) and open up vaccine appointments broadly to everyone eligible in L.A. County. We expect to learn more in the coming week about how we balance access between the UCLA community and other L.A. County residents and we will provide updates as soon as this information becomes available. To the extent that we are able, we are committed to providing priority-based outreach and scheduling as noted above.
Even after receiving the vaccine, it is important to continue to practice the public health protocols that we have been using over the past year to keep ourselves and others safer. These include maintaining six feet of distance from others; wearing facial coverings over your mouth, nose and chin; avoiding large gatherings and frequently washing your hands.
As a reminder, you can find general information about the vaccines on UCLA Health’s COVID-19 vaccine information hub and visit UCLA’s COVID-19 resources website and Bruins Safe Online for updates about our campus response to the pandemic. If you have additional questions, concerns or thoughts about UCLA’s COVID-19 response, please write to COVID19@ucla.edu.
Finally, we also wanted to take a moment to remind you that University of California policy requires COVID-19 vaccine education training for all faculty and staff. If you have not yet completed your training, you may do so before or after you receive the vaccine.
With optimism, care and patience, we will recover from the pandemic together.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Beck
Administrative Vice Chancellor
Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force
Michael Meranze
Immediate Past Chair, UCLA Academic Senate
Professor of History
Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force
===============If you get the vaccine, it will be something to sing about:
Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goJSTdeLUB0
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