Requiring COVID-19 Booster

Highlights

• All eligible MIT students, staff, faculty, and affiliates must receive a COVID-19 booster by January 14, 2022 in order to maintain access to MIT buildings.
• If you have already received a COVID-19 booster, upload a photo via covidvaccine.mit.edu or the Atlas app by January 14, 2022.
• MIT Medical will hold COVID-19 booster clinics in January and at the beginning of the spring semester. More details will be available soon. For a list of pharmacies and community-wide clinics in Massachusetts offering boosters now, visit vaxfinder.mass.gov.
• If you are not fully vaccinated and currently have an exemption, you are also exempt from the booster requirement.
• If you believe you will be unable to receive the booster by the deadline, including if you are abroad now or will be over IAP, please contact vaccine-requirement@mit.edu as soon as possible for assistance.

To the members of the MIT community:

MIT will require COVID-19 vaccine boosters for the entire MIT community, including Lincoln Laboratory employees, effective January 14, 2022.

We have made this decision based upon the rise in cases on campus, locally, nationally, and globally; the availability of vaccine boosters; and the emergence of the Omicron variant. Evidence continues to show that COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are effective against the virus and its variants, and that they can help to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

The MIT booster requirement applies to all eligible individuals ages 16 and older who study, work, or live on MIT’s campuses, or who access MIT facilities. To be eligible, six months must have passed since your last Moderna or Pfizer dose, or two months must have passed since your Johnson & Johnson/Janssen dose. If you received a vaccine not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you are eligible for a booster if six months have passed since your last dose.

If you have already received a COVID-19 booster:

Upload proof of your booster to covidvaccine.mit.edu or via the Atlas app before January 14, 2022.

If you have not yet received a COVID-19 booster:

If you are eligible, you will need to receive a booster vaccination between now and the January 14, 2022 deadline. You will not be able to access MIT buildings after that date until you satisfy the requirement. For staff represented by a union, MIT’s labor relations team will continue discussions with union leadership about the booster requirement.

Boosters are available at many local pharmacies and community-wide clinics. For a list of locations in Massachusetts, visit vaxfinder.mass.gov. Additionally, MIT Medical will hold COVID-19 booster vaccination clinics in January and at the start of the spring term. Dates and times for those clinics will be announced in the coming weeks. Information on boosters beyond MIT or Massachusetts can be found at vaccines.gov or at the CDC’s website.

Those who believe they won’t be able to receive the booster by the deadline – including those who are abroad now, or who may be abroad over IAP – should contact vaccine-requirement@mit.edu as soon as possible for assistance.

If you are not yet eligible for a booster vaccination:

Once you become eligible, as described above, you will have two weeks to receive your booster dose before you will be out of compliance with MIT’s booster requirement.

If you already received a COVID-19 vaccination exemption:

MIT community members who are not fully vaccinated and currently have a religious or medical exemption from the Institute's vaccine requirement are also exempt from the booster requirement; since they have not received the primary vaccine series, they are not eligible for a booster.

If you are eligible for a booster but would like to request an exemption for either the vaccine or the booster, you may apply for an exemption at covidvaccine.mit.edu or via the vaccine module on the Atlas app by early next week.

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The MIT community achieved a 98% vaccination rate ahead of the fall semester. We are confident we can do the same with boosters, and we thank you for doing your part to support the health of our community and the advancement of our mission.

Sincerely,

Ramona Allen, Vice President for Human Resources

Melissa Nobles, Chancellor

Martin A. Schmidt, Provost

Glen Shor, Executive Vice President and Treasurer

Cecilia Stuopis, MD, Medical Director, MIT Medical

Ian A. Waitz, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education

Maria T. Zuber, Vice President for Research