UW Requires All Employees Take COVID-19 Vaccine

SEATTLE — The University of Washington is now requiring that all employees take the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the university, faculty and staff will need to present proof they have been fully vaccinated before they can come back to work for the autumn quarter. The requirement applies at all three UW campuses in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma.

The move follows a similar announcement in early May, which also mandated that all UW students be immunized against COVID.

“The FDA-authorized vaccines – which are based on technology that’s been under development for more than two decades – are safe and effective," wroteUW President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards in a joint statement. "Widespread vaccination is our ticket to a return to in-person learning and working as we create the ‘new normal’ for our University, and we encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as you’re able.”

Students and staff will be allowed to file exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

For those who are struggling to find a vaccine dose, the university says it will continue to offer free vaccination at UW Medicine facilities like the UW Medical Center.

The announcement comes after the Washington Department of Labor & Industries released new guidance allowing businesses to require their workers to verify their vaccination status. Under the L&I regulations, the university can ask employees and students to submit a CDC vaccination card, a photo of the card, or other documentation from health care providers verifying they have been immunized against the coronavirus.

The university says it will release more information about where and how students and staff can submit that documentation shortly.

"More details will be shared in early summer on how employees can confirm they have been vaccinated or apply for an exemption," the university said. "These will include how this requirement will interact with the existing UW Medicine employee vaccine survey, as well as its application to faculty affiliates or staff who do not come to UW campuses or facilities and those employees who work out of state."

Other schools, like University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University and Washington State University are also mandating their students take the COVID-19 vaccine, though they have yet to announce mandates for faculty and staff.

>> Read Cauce's full message to students and staff on the UW website.