Provide your vaccine status by May 23

May 3, 2021
Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources | Martin A. Schmidt, Provost, 2014–2022 | Glen Shor, Executive Vice President and Treasurer |

To members of the MIT community,

As we look toward the fall semester and a return to more in-person work and learning on campus, we’re writing with an important update on our approach to community health and well-being.

Following consultation with medical experts, consideration of best public health practices, a review of how other institutions of higher education are approaching vaccine requirements, and guidance from the American College Health Association, MIT will require all students to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 in order to register for the fall semester. Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart and MIT Medical Director Cecilia Stuopis wrote to students with this update on Friday.

We are still considering whether to pursue a similar requirement for MIT staff, faculty, and others who routinely access campus. To help us make an informed decision, all employees are required to complete a vaccination status form using our secure platform by May 23. This requirement applies to all employees, whether you are accessing campus or not. It also applies to all contractors and other workers who routinely access campus. If you are in Covid Pass and have not responded by May 23, you will be prompted for this information before you can access campus.

Your vaccine status will only be accessible by authorized MIT Medical and supporting staff in accordance with our privacy and data retention policies. Aggregated vaccine data, such as the percentage of MIT employees vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated, will be used to help us make decisions about fall policies, including testing, mask requirements, and the possibility of employee vaccine requirements. Aggregated data may also be shared with the community to make clear the factors that inform our final decisions.

While the vaccine status information we are requiring from you is only being used in the aggregate right now, in the future individualized data may be used for health and safety purposes to, for example, determine your eligibility to access certain spaces and activities on campus, or for MIT-sponsored travel.

It is important to keep in mind that as the vaccination rate within our community increases, the need for restrictions to keep our community safe decreases.

Whatever decision we make with regard to employee vaccinations, it will be focused on ensuring that we can safely fulfill our mission. As President Reif recently announced, we are planning to offer a complete and compelling on-campus experience this fall. We recognize, of course, that the way we work together is evolving, which is why our Work Succeeding effort is so important. The recommendations of that initiative will be woven tightly together with our plans for health and safety on campus this fall.

Getting the formula right will require all of us to play a role – starting with completing the vaccination status form by May 23.

In the meantime, thank you for everything you continue to do to make MIT an extraordinary place.

Sincerely,

Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources
Martin A. Schmidt, Provost
Glen Shor, Executive Vice President and Treasurer

 

P.S. If you haven’t already, please get vaccinated as soon as you can to protect yourself and those around you!