UB Vaccination Updates and Protocols

The vaccines were evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and their independent advisory board, which after very careful analysis and review deemed them safe and effective. Prior to the FDA’s review, the vaccines underwent the most rigorous level of clinical trial testing, which is the gold standard for evaluating the safety and efficacy of vaccines in people.

See Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines for additional information.

Current scientific evidence suggests that the vaccines provide a significant degree of protection against all variants, including minimizing the risk of serious outcomes such as hospitalization.

If you only received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, it is critical to get the second dose to be optimally protected; in particular, a single dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines does not fully protect against the delta variant.

If you are not vaccinated but you have been infected with COVID-19 previously, you definitely need to be vaccinated, especially because natural immunity may not protect you against some of these variants. Most recently more than 99% of COVID-related deaths in this country have occurred in the unvaccinated.

This is a work in progress and only time will tell as we continue to assess the protection afforded by vaccination. However, vaccination induces an even better immune response than natural infection, which lasts at least eight to 10 months. Extrapolating from that, people who are vaccinated should be able to get at least a year and possibly more than a year of protection against COVID-19. 

Immunity conferred by infection is much more variable than that conferred by vaccination, particularly if your infection was asymptomatic or mild. Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again.

It has also become clear that if you were previously infected and then get vaccinated you will have a tremendous immune response that is predicted to be highly protective and long-lasting.

Most adverse effects due to vaccination will occur within the first one to two months. There are no historical examples of vaccinations causing an adverse event outside of that timeframe. However, even if at some point down the line, an uncommon, long-term consequence from the COVID-19 vaccine is identified, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 will still be exponentially greater than any from vaccination.

The vaccines were tested in 40,000 people and now more than 400 million doses have been given. Emergency use authorization (EUA) of the vaccines does not equate to being experimental. EUA status was obtained after two months of safety data; full licensure requires six months of safety data.

After 400 million doses have been administered, the safety profile of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines look very good. It’s important to note that both Pfizer and Moderna are now applying for full licensure and it is fully expected that both of these will receive it.

There is absolutely no evidence that the vaccines cause infertility or get into your DNA. These fears are propagated on social media, which is not a reliable source of information on vaccines or COVID-19. Instead, rely on trusted sources: Erie County, New York State, the CDC, or alternatively, an individual you trust. It could be a primary care physician or a pastor but it’s critical that the trusted individual be someone who gives you reliable information.

If you are immunocompromised, it’s best to talk to your health care provider because not all immune-compromising conditions are equal. Immunocompromised individuals should definitely get vaccinated, but they also should take precautions in high-risk settings, such as indoors, where there may be people who are unvaccinated.

UB strongly supports New York State’s vaccination program and the need for members of the university and Western New York community to get vaccinated in order to protect our region against COVID-19.

See the CDC's Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines for additional information.

The concept of herd immunity just means that cases will be at a very manageable, low number. This very low number of cases will fluctuate depending on the season. Now is the time to get vaccinated while cases are at low levels in Western New York.

Remember, it takes five to six weeks to achieve full protection after your first shot. For the unvaccinated, your risk of getting infected will undoubtedly increase as we move into the fall.

Yes, UB is hosting a designated New York State vaccination site for the Western New York community in Harriman Hall on the university’s South Campus.

Information regarding parking and a map of UB's South Campus is available on the UB Parking and Transportation website.

Additional information about the site is available by visiting the New York State Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccine website, or calling the state hotline at 1-833-697-4829 (1-833-NYS-4-VAX).

The New York State Department of Health is providing regular updates regarding who is eligible for vaccination. Please see https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ for eligibility requirements.

The University at Buffalo has launched a website to help people easily find available COVID-19 vaccination appointments across Western New York. WNY Vaccine Hound is a critical community resource that serves as a one-stop website that lists vaccination appointment openings in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara and Erie Counties. More information about WNY Vaccine Hound can be found here.

If you have a cough or a cold, you should wear a mask, and always stay home whenever you aren’t feeling well. Even if you feel fine, you might give it to someone who does not feel fine.

Also, share your vaccine experience with family members and friends who remain unvaccinated. Hearing about your experience with vaccination may help them overcome their hesitancy to get vaccinated.

The overall safety of our community is directly related to the number of people vaccinated.

From a cleanliness standpoint, there’s nothing wrong with wiping down your phone, computers and surfaces you touch, but the data show that this virus spreads primarily through the air. Being indoors with other infected individuals presents the greatest risk, particularly for those who are unvaccinated and not wearing a mask in that setting.

All UB students will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend classes on campus, or otherwise engage in-person in the fall, according to a mandate from the state and in compliance with SUNY COVID-19 protocols. This requirement for all 64 campuses in the SUNY system was approved and adopted by the SUNY Board of Trustees on June 23, and is pending final approval of a COVID vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration. We expect full FDA approval soon.

As an additional health and safety measure, and in adherence with SUNY COVID-19 protocols, UB is requiring all students living in university owned and operated residence halls and apartments to submit proof of vaccination before moving in to their fall assignments. This decision was made given the high population density of our residence halls and apartment buildings, as well as the frequent and close contact of individuals in UB’s residential communities. Specifically, in congregate living settings, there is higher risk for spread of illness, and vaccination is a proven, preventative tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Requiring the vaccine protects our community and allows for the safest on-campus housing setting possible.

All UB students will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend classes in-person in the fall, according to a mandate from the state. This requirement is pending final approval from SUNY and is also subject to full approval of the vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration, which we expect to be granted soon.

If you are a new/incoming UB student and you have already received your COVID-19 vaccine, please submit your COVID-19 vaccine documentation along with your MMR & Meningitis documents.

Returning students should upload their COVID-19 vaccine document to the Health Services patient portal at patientportal.buffalo.edu.

All students and advisers living in residence halls and university-owned-and-operated apartments are required to be fully vaccinated upon move in to their assigned, on-campus residence.

Please do not send a religious (or other) COVID-19 immunization exemption request to Health Services yet, as it cannot be accepted. If religious (or other) COVID-19 immunization exemptions are allowed, information about what is acceptable and how to submit the needed documentation will be posted to the Health Services website and to the UB covid website.

See Also

First, UB is strongly encouraging students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated, because we know the vaccines are highly effective and extremely safe. It is the best protection we have against the spread of COVID-19 and the means to end this pandemic.

If you are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and on campus, you will need to wear a mask, indoors and outdoors, and practice physical distancing whenever possible. Although these measures will decrease your risk, the best means to minimize your risk is through vaccination.

You will also need to participate in surveillance testing, as we continue to test unvaccinated students, faculty and staff who are on campus, for positive cases among the campus community.

Students and employees who are regularly on campus will no longer need to participate in mandatory weekly testing upon verifying that they have been fully vaccinated.

However, required weekly testing will continue for those who are on campus and have not been fully vaccinated or fail to verify that they have completed their vaccination series.

Human Resources has provided guidance to employees on how to provide proof of vaccination. Students can submit vaccination documentation through the Student Health Services portal.  

As an additional health and safety measure, and in adherence with SUNY COVID-19 protocols, UB is requiring all students living in university owned and operated residence halls and apartments to submit proof of vaccination before moving in to their fall assignments. This decision was made given the high population density of our residence halls and apartment buildings, as well as the frequent and close contact of individuals in UB’s residential communities. Specifically, in congregate living settings, there is higher risk for spread of illness, and vaccination is a proven, preventative tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Requiring the vaccine protects our community and allows for the safest on-campus housing setting possible.

See Vaccine FAQs for UB International Students and Scholars