UMMS COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
As a health care system that cares for some of the most vulnerable populations across our state, the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) has a responsibility to do everything we can to protect our patients and team members from illness. The COVID-19 vaccines are a critical tool in fighting the pandemic and, most importantly, in protecting ourselves and others from COVID-19.
Effective October 1, 2021, all UMMS team members, Medical Staff, partners and volunteers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption. This approach brings our COVID-19 vaccination policy in line with those already in place for influenza, measles and many other common vaccines that have long been required in our System.
Policy Updates
In order to best support the health and safety of our team members, patients, and communities, we will make adjustments to the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy, as necessary, based on evolving clinical data and national and state guidelines. We will also amend the policy as the vaccines are granted full FDA approval. The following list summarizes the changes made to the policy, but please review the full policy for complete details.
August 20, 2021 – The policy was updated to reflect the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leading clinical expert groups, and UMMS obstetric experts that all individuals who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or breastfeeding receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This follows data that further supports the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines among this population.
September 15, 2021 – The policy was updated to reflect that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been granted full FDA approval for individuals 16 years of age and older and will now be marketed as “Comirnaty.”
November 8, 2021 – The policy was updated to include the process for administering the vaccine to UMMS team members, including screening, obtaining consent, post-vaccination monitoring, and the scheduling of additional vaccine doses, as previously outlined in the Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Policy (now retired). The revised policy also includes a new attachment about compliance and disciplinary procedures, as well as an update to serial testing requirements for team members with an approved exemption/temporary deferral who test positive for COVID-19. Specifically, team members with a recent COVID-19 diagnosis (within 90 days) may be excused from serial testing for 90 days from the date of their diagnosis with valid, approved documentation. Documentation (for example, a positive COVID-19 test result with the test date) must be submitted by the team member to their local Employee Health department and the team member must be granted approval before they stop participating in serial testing. At the end of the 90-day period, as defined by the individual’s local Employee Health department, these team members must resume testing to remain compliant.
Read Dr. Mohan Suntha’s full letter and watch his video message for more details on this policy. You can also read the UMMS COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy and see below for additional resources.
Resources
- FAQs – View FAQs about the policy and be sure to check back frequently for the latest information. Please note, these will be updated on a regular basis as we receive new questions, so be sure to check back for the latest information.