COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Vaccine Documentation Requirement at URI

Starting this Fall, URI is requiring COVID-19 vaccines for all undergraduate and graduate students. Medical and religious exemptions from vaccination will be granted to students, and reasonable accommodations will be provided. Undergraduate and graduate students who are not vaccinated and do not qualify for a medical or religious exemption will not be permitted to access campus.

Currently, there are three available COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S.: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. The vaccines are authorized for individuals age 12 and older (Pfizer) and age 18 and older (Moderna and Johnson & Johnson). None of these vaccines carry live coronavirus. You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics On Campus

First and second doses are available at all clinics.

Verify Your Vaccination

URI is requiring all students who have received an FDA– or WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccination to provide verification by uploading the completed vaccination card from your vaccination provider by August 16, 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO)-approved vaccines currently are Sinopharm, Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Janssen, and Moderna.

To Upload Your Vaccination Records (Students Only):

  1. Log in to the patient portal.
  2. Click the “Immunizations” tab.
  3. Go to the “Required” section.
  4. Enter the dates that you received the COVID-19 vaccines. Enter the dates under the correct vaccine (Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson).
  5. Go to the “Upload” tab, under the choose document you are uploading select Immunization Record(s).  Be sure your name and date of birth are on the vaccination record.
  6. Browse to select your scanned/saved vaccination record or take a photo from your mobile device and upload the photo to the patient portal. *Acceptable proof of vaccination includes a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, a state-issued COVID-19 Vaccine History record, or documented proof from a healthcare provider.

NOTE: If you received your vaccine from a RI state vaccination site, please click here to get a copy of your COVID-19 Vaccine History record.

COVID-19 Medical/Religious Exemptions

Instructions for students to access and upload an exemption:

  1. Log in to the patient portal.
  2. From the patient portal home page, print and complete the appropriate exemption form. Please note, the medical exemption form must be completed and signed by a healthcare provider.
  3. From the patient portal home page, Go to the “Upload” tab in the patient portal and from the “Choose document you are uploading” drop down menu, select either COVID-19 Vaccine Medical Exemption Form or COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemption Form.
  4. If you have saved a copy of your vaccine documentation on your computer, click “Select File” to find and upload the document. If you have accessed the patient portal from a mobile device, you can take a photo of the document.
  5. URI Health Services will review all exemption forms and send an approval or denial via URI email.

Mask Wearing Requirements

Fully vaccinated community members and visitors will no longer be required to wear a face mask/covering while on the URI campuses except in certain circumstances such as visiting URI Health Services, using public transportation, when indicated by a facility/employment such as a research laboratory or duties that require it for safety, or at the request of faculty.

Individuals who are not considered fully vaccinated must continue to wear face coverings at all times both inside and sometimes outside while on any URI campus. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after their last vaccination dose— either a second dose of a two-dose vaccine (Moderna and Pfizer); or 14 days after one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. See more detailed information on face coverings.

Continuing to wear a mask if fully vaccinated is a personal decision and anyone who feels more comfortable and wants to wear a face covering is welcome to do so.

Per a letter of support from the RI Department of Health, “Vaccination is the primary preventive approach and RIDOH is supportive of Institutions of Higher Education choosing to require COVID-19 vaccination for students and/or faculty and staff to be vaccinated for in the Fall of 2021.”