Dear Faculty and Staff:
We are excited to announce that through a partnership with the Hillsborough County Department of Health, the University of South Florida has received approval to begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible USF faculty and staff from all three campuses. USF Health will administer an initial limited supply of the vaccine, which is available at the present time only to persons age 65 and over based on state of Florida guidelines.
Please do not call USF Health to schedule an appointment.
The following information will direct you to one of two surveys you must complete so that we can contact you to schedule an appointment immediately if you are 65 and over. If members of your immediate household are 65 and over, we will put them in the queue to be scheduled when more vaccine becomes available. If you are under the age of 65, your responses will place you in the queue to be scheduled when eligibility for the vaccine is expanded to other age groups.
There is no charge to receive the vaccine.
The vaccines will be given in person only with a scheduled appointment (no walk-ups) at the USF Health Morsani Center for Advanced Health Care at 13330 Laurel Drive on the northwest corner of the Tampa campus. Additional locations through USF will become available at a later time.
This is a two-dose vaccine; upon completion of the first dose, you will be scheduled for your second dose.
If you are 65 years of age or older, please complete this survey.
The survey will ask about your interest in receiving the vaccine and for your contact information. If you are eligible for the vaccine, you will receive a second survey that will gather information necessary to register you in the system and will allow you to select an appointment.
It will also ask about other members of your household who are 65 years of age and older and if they are interested in receiving the vaccine. If they are, please provide contact information; we will follow up to schedule appointments for them as future allotments become available.
Please read the following information carefully to determine if you are eligible to receive the vaccine:
- You must be available to return to the vaccine clinic 19-23 days after your first dose to receive your second dose.
- Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 30 days? If yes, you must wait until 14 days have passed from your symptom onset and be symptom-free before receiving your first dosage. If you received monoclonal antibodies for your COVID-19 illness, you must wait 90 days before scheduling the vaccine.
- Are you under quarantine due to a close contact (household member) COVID-19 exposure? If yes, do not schedule your first dose until your quarantine has ended. If you were exposed but not quarantined, you are still eligible to schedule your vaccine.
- Are you immunosuppressed or on immunotherapy? Please discuss with your treating healthcare provider to get approval before scheduling your appointment.
- Are you allergic to any components of the vaccine such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate? If yes, you should not get this vaccine.
- Have you received any other vaccine in the previous two weeks? If yes, you must wait at least two weeks after receiving another vaccination to receive your COVID-19 vaccine.
- Do you have a history of a severe allergic reaction (i.e. anaphylaxis) to any vaccine or injectable therapy? If yes, you should not receive the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine at this time. If you have a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions for any other reason, you may receive the vaccine but will be required to wait 30 minutes in the vaccine clinic for observation.
- Are you able to wait 15 minutes after receiving your COVID-19 vaccine in the vaccination clinic? If not, please do not schedule your vaccine.
- Do not come for your appointment if you are acutely ill with any COVID-19-like symptoms such as fever, cough, loss of taste and smell, etc.
If you are under 65 years of age, you are not eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. However, you should still complete this survey.
The survey will ask about your interest in receiving the vaccine, whether you have any health risks that would give you priority when vaccines are available, and for your contact information. This will allow us to put you in the queue to be scheduled once eligibility has been expanded.
It will also ask if you have any household members who are 65 years or age and older and if they are interested in receiving the vaccine. If they are, please provide contact information; we will follow up to schedule appointments for them as future allotments become available.
A vaccine FAQ is available here.
You may submit vaccine-related questions via email to vaccine-info@usf.edu
While the availability of a safe and effective vaccine is an important tool in combatting COVID-19, everyone must still follow all mitigation measures to prevent transmission until we have achieved herd immunity. These include maintaining a safe physical distance from others of at least six feet, properly wearing a face covering at all times, washing hands frequently, disinfecting surfaces, monitoring symptoms and staying home and seeking medical attention whenever you are not feeling well.