Vaccination Booster Portal Is Now Open

11/19/2021

January 17, 2022

Dear members of the Saint Louis University community:

Today, we are re-launching our online portal where students, staff and faculty who are living, studying, working, researching and ministering on our St. Louis campuses can submit proof of vaccination and booster dose, or submit their request for a medical or religious exemption. Thank you for your patience.

Submitting proof of vaccination and booster dose

“Booster eligibility” is defined as having received the single-dose J&J vaccine at least two months ago or the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine at least five months ago.

• Proof is to be provided as a digital copy of your completed CDC COVID-19 vaccine card, or of a vaccination card provided by the vaccination site where you had obtained a World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 vaccine.
• January 31 is the deadline for eligible vaccinated SLUCare staff and all students to upload their proof of a booster dose.
• February 28 is the deadline for eligible vaccinated non-SLUCare faculty and staff to upload their proof of a booster dose.
• You will need to re-enter your dates of vaccination with the one-dose J&J vaccine or the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines when you submit proof of your booster dose. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please be sure to enter your dates of vaccination and booster dose accurately.
• Please email pandemic@slu.edu with any questions about booster doses and vaccinations.

Seeking a medical or religious exemption from our vaccination and booster requirements

• If you obtained a University-approved vaccine exemption in Fall 2021, your exemption applies to the booster dose. You don’t need to seek another exemption.
• If you are a vaccinated student or employee and want to request a medical or religious exemption from the booster dose, or you are a new student this semester and you want to apply for a vaccination exemption, the deadlines are:
  • January 31 for graduate and undergraduate students and all SLUCare staff.
  • February 28 for non-SLUCare faculty and staff.

Again, we will provide a brief grace period for those who may need more time to obtain a letter from their primary health care provider for a medical exemption. There will be no deadline extensions for those seeking religious exemptions.

• Exemption due to a substantive medical reason: CDC guidelines about medical reasons one cannot be vaccinated (i.e., medical contraindications)will serve as the basis for our policy.

Neither evidence of test results from recent infection nor antibody test results constitutes the basis for a medical exemption from the booster dose requirement policy.

If seeking a medical exemption from a booster dose (as a currently vaccinated employee or student) or from a vaccination (as a new student or employee), you will need to include a letter from your existing primary licensed healthcare provider detailing your need for medical exemption in your request. Such a letter is provided when one is seeking an exemption from our other required vaccinations. There are no appeals from the decision reached. Exemptions completed by a physician friend or family member will not be accepted.

The letter from your primary care provider must describe your specific contraindication to the COVID-19 vaccine:

• • Severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) after a previous dose or to a component of the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Diagnosed allergy to a component of a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Other medical contraindication. Certifications in the “Other” category are subject to medical review, including consultation with your primary health care provider regarding the condition.
• Exemption due to a sincerely held religious belief: A sincerely held religious belief is one that is either part of a traditional, organized religion such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism, as well as non-theistic moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.

Social, political or personal preferences do not qualify as a religious belief.

If you have received other vaccinations, please explain how or why the COVID-19 vaccine is different under your religious belief than the available vaccines to other diseases that you have received. If you have received prior COVID-19 vaccinations, please explain how or why the COVID-19 booster is different under your religious belief than the J&J, Pfizer or Moderna series with which you had been inoculated previously.

Please utilize the form provided in the portal, and submit any and all information you wish to be considered. The form is a Word document that you can use to write as much as you feel is needed to fully explain your sincerely-held religious belief and the basis for your exemption request. The decision regarding your request will be based solely on your written submission, so it is imperative to state fully all information you wish to be considered as part of your request. There are no appeals from the decision reached.

• Please email vaccineexemption@slu.edu with any questions on vaccination exemptions. Decisions and correspondence regarding this process will come from that email account.

What if I am denied an exemption?

If your request for a religious or medical exemption is denied, you are expected to get vaccinated and boosted, once eligible, in order to live, work or learn on our St. Louis campuses at Saint Louis University. There will be a grace period provided to you to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of your exemption decision if it is denied.

Remote learning and work will not be an option for those who are denied an exemption.

What if I refuse to comply?

A small number of members of our community have voiced their firm refusal to be vaccinated or boosted should their request for an exemption be denied. In the end, we hope our campus community will see that being fully boosted is the optimal way to suppress disease spread among ourselves and one another — and to abide by the common bond of our Jesuit values.

While we hope for 100% compliance with our vaccination and booster requirements (either by being fully boosted or obtaining a University-approved medical or religious exemption), we are realistic that valued members of our community will likely not comply, and we must accept that unfortunate reality. Accordingly, the University has adopted recommendations of a working group of faculty, students and staff for a series of escalating actions that ultimately provides for separation from the University for anyone choosing not to comply with the University’s vaccination and booster requirements without a University-approved medical or religious exemption.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at pandemic@slu.edu or vaccineexemption@slu.edu.

Stay safe and be well,

Terri Rebmann, Ph.D., RN, CIC, FAPIC
Special Assistant to the President
Director, Institute for Biosecurity
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
College for Public Health and Social Justice