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COVID-19 Vaccine Proof & Exemptions Portal Available

July 22, 2022

Dear Saint Louis University students,

Today, we are launching an updated online portal where students, staff and faculty who are living, studying, working, researching and ministering on our St. Louis campuses can submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination or submit their request for a medical or religious exemption. The new portal will also be used by students to submit proof of other University-required vaccinations. The list of required vaccinations for students can be found on the Student Health Center webpage.

Topics in this email:

If you have already submitted proof or have an exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine or other University-required vaccines, you’re all set.

If you have previously uploaded proof of COVID-19 vaccination, you do not need to take any action. Similarly, if you have an approved COVID-19 vaccination exemption from SLU, that exemption is still valid and no further action is required at this time.

If you are a student and have already submitted proof of your other University-required vaccinations (e.g., meningitis) to the Student Health Center, there is no need to resubmit documentation via the portal.

If you are a new student, the portal is now open to upload documentation about COVID-19 vaccine or other University-required vaccines.

If you are a new undergraduate or graduate student who will be living, studying, working, researching or ministering on our St. Louis campuses, and you have not yet submitted your proof of vaccination, you must upload proof of COVID-19 vaccination to the online vaccination portal. As President Pestello said in his June 22 message, all individuals who will be physically present on SLU’s St. Louis campuses this fall semester must have received the primary COVID-19 vaccination series.

If you have not yet submitted your proof of other University-required vaccines (e.g., meningitis) to the Student Health Center, you must also upload proof of those vaccines to the online vaccination portal. The portal identifies what will be deemed satisfactory proof of these required immunizations.

The portal can be accessed via any mobile device, but will function best on a computer.

If you are a new student seeking an exemption from required vaccinations, you must submit exemption requests via the portal.

Exemption requests from COVID-19 vaccination and other University-required vaccinations should be uploaded to the online vaccination portal. Exemption requests may be submitted on the grounds of a sincerely held religious belief or a substantive medical reason. What qualifies as a sincerely held religious belief or a substantive medical reason and required exemption forms can be found in the online vaccination portal.

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

Where can I get vaccinated?

Vaccines are widely available and offered at most pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS, Target and others. You can search for COVID-19 vaccines in your hometown here, using your zip code.

On-campus vaccination clinics will be available again at the start of the fall semester. Because the August 1 deadline precedes the re-opening of campus vaccination clinics, you should obtain your vaccination at a community vaccination site. Campus vaccination clinics will be a great resource for booster doses, when you become eligible for them.

What if I am denied an exemption?

If your request for a religious or medical exemption is denied, you are expected to get vaccinated in order to live, work or learn on campus at Saint Louis University. The decision on your exemption request will be final and there is no opportunity to request an appeal or submit additional information, so it is very important that you detail all the reasons for your exemption request at the time you submit your request. There will be a grace period provided to you to get a COVID-19 vaccine if your vaccine exemption request were to be 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 should their request for an exemption be denied. In the end, we hope our campus community will see that vaccination is the optimal way to protect ourselves and one another — and to abide by the common bond of our Jesuit values.

While we hope for 100% compliance with this requirement (either by being vaccinated or obtaining an approved medical or religious exemption) we are realistic that valued members of our community will likely not comply and must accept that unfortunate reality. Accordingly, the University has adopted recommendations of a 2021 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 vaccine requirement without an approved medical or religious exemption.

I want to thank the people who made this portal possible: our partners in ITS, the Office of the Registrar, the Student Health Center, COVID-19 Prevention Team, and our partners at Watkyn LLC. Without the help of these leaders and the direction from our stakeholder-driven working groups, this wouldn’t be possible.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to email 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