COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

COVID-19 Vaccination and Booster Shot Requirements 

All students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus must be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions. In accordance with CDC guidance, “up to date” means that the person is fully vaccinated as defined below and that they have received a booster dose when eligible.

All students and employees on campus who are vaccinated are required to provide documentation for all doses in accordance with the instructions below. Upon request, visitors should be prepared to show proof of vaccination and their booster shot or certify that they have a valid religious or medical exemption.

There are separate documentation requirements for students and employees seeking medical or religious exemptions (please see below).

Primary COVID-19 Vaccine Series

“Fully vaccinated” means that a person has received all recommended doses in their primary series of any of the following three COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, or Janssen (also known as Johnson & Johnson).

Middlebury accepts one of the FDA-approved (Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) or FDA-Emergency Use Authorization-approved (Janssen/Johnson & Johnson) vaccines listed above. However, for safety and efficacy reasons, the CDC has expressed a clinical preference for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. See the CDC’s guidance here. Individuals considering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should consult with their healthcare provider. 

Individuals receiving the vaccine should meet the following criteria:

• If you were previously infected with COVID-19, you must have recovered from acute infection and meet the criteria for discontinuation of isolation precautions before receiving the vaccine.
• If you received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma for a COVID infection you should delay vaccination for at least 90 days from the time of treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider for guidance.
• If you have a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection complicated by multisystem inflammatory syndrome, the decision to vaccinate should be individualized with clinical guidance following a risk and benefit discussion with your healthcare provider.

Individuals with questions about whether they are eligible to receive the vaccine should contact their healthcare provider. Students should contact Health Services.

For additional information regarding vaccines, see guidance from the CDC.

Approved Vaccines for Individuals Living Outside of the United States

For individuals living outside the United States who do not have access to the three COVID-19 vaccines referenced above, the following criteria must be met for them to be considered conditionally vaccinated against COVID-19:

• They have official medical documentation, in English, of the following full series of COVID-19 vaccinations with both doses administered according to the dosing schedule below. (Original documentation may be in a foreign language with English translation attached. English translations must include your name, date of birth, vaccine manufacturer, and vaccination dates.) Following are the dosing schedules for approved vaccines as of March 21, 2022, including:
  • AstraZeneca-SK Bio or AstraZeneca EU: two doses 8 to 12 weeks apart.
  • Serum Institute of India Covishield (Oxford/AstraZeneca formulation): two doses more than 28 days apart (WHO recommends an interval of 8 to 12 weeks between the two doses).
  • Sinovac-CoronaVac: two doses 14 to 28 days apart.
  • Sinopharm: two doses 21 to 28 days apart.
  • Bharat Biotech Covaxin: two doses 28 days apart.
  • Nuvaxovid: two doses 21 to 28 days apart.
• Fourteen days have passed since the last dose of the series.

Please note that the following vaccines are not considered approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), and individuals who received these vaccines and plan to be on campus are considered to be unvaccinated. These individuals should contact Health Services, their healthcare provider, and/or their program administrator for guidance on receiving an FDA- or WHO-approved vaccine and follow guidance for unvaccinated status during the arrival period and thereafter, if applicable.

• Gam-COVID-Vac (SputnikV/Gamaleya Institute)
• CanSinoBio Ad5-nCoV

See also CDC guidance for COVID-19 shots received outside the United States.

Booster Shots

Eligible individuals who have received all recommended doses in their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines are also required to receive a booster shot in accordance with the dosing schedule recommended by the CDC. In accordance with CDC guidance, individuals may choose any of the COVID-19 booster vaccines authorized in the United States. However, as stated above, the CDC has expressed a clinical preference for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Individuals who are considering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for their booster shot should consult their healthcare provider for further guidance. 

Individuals receiving a booster shot should meet the following criteria:

• If you were previously infected with COVID-19, you must have recovered from acute infection and meet the criteria for discontinuation of isolation precautions before receiving the vaccine.
• If you received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma for a COVID-19 infection you should delay your booster vaccination for at least 90 days from the time of treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider for guidance.
• If you have a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection complicated by multisystem inflammatory syndrome, the decision to vaccinate should be individualized with clinical guidance following a risk and benefit discussion with your healthcare provider.

Individuals with questions about whether they are eligible to receive a booster shot should contact their healthcare provider. Students should contact Health Services.

For moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals, please also refer to CDC guidance.

Additional information from the CDC about COVID-19 vaccine booster shots is available here.

Booster Shots for Eligible Individuals who Received WHO-Approved Vaccines

Booster shots are also required for eligible individuals who received any of the WHO-approved vaccines. Please see the CDC’s guidance for recommended doses. 

Please also see the CDC guidance for moderately or severely immunocompromised individuals. 

Vaccination and Booster Shot Deadlines

Students 

All students must be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations as defined by this policy or have an approved medical or religious exemption. Students must upload proof of their booster shot within two weeks of their eligibility to receive the shot. Documentation must be uploaded in accordance with the instructions below. 

Students who do not comply may be placed on a leave of absence, not permitted to participate in room draw, and/or be considered ineligible to register for future classes. Student accounts for those placed on a leave of absence will be credited in accordance with the College’s Refunds Policy. 

If students are placed on a leave of absence for failure to comply with this policy, they will be eligible to return for the fall 2022 term provided that they are in full compliance with the College’s vaccination and booster requirements. They must notify their dean of their intention to return for the fall 2022 term and provide proof of compliance by uploading their vaccination information to the student health portal by June 15.

If a student already has received an approved medical or religious exemption with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine, they do not have to resubmit a new exemption request with regard to the booster shot.

Employees

All employees must be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines as defined by this policy or have an approved medical or religious exemption. Middlebury audits employee data for all programs periodically and expects our community will remain at or above ninety percent vaccinated. If audit findings indicate otherwise, we will take further steps.

Employees must upload proof of their booster shot within two weeks of their eligibility to receive the shot. 

If an employee already has received an approved medical or religious exemption with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine, they do not have to resubmit a new exemption request with regard to the booster.

COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot documentation must be uploaded in accordance with the vaccine upload instructions for employees below.  

Failure to comply with this policy may result in discipline, up to and including termination.  

How to Submit Your Vaccine and Booster Shot Documentation

All students and employees must have official medical documentation of their COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots such as an uploaded photo of their CDC vaccine card if received in the United States, or other official vaccine records applicable to vaccines received outside the United States. 

Documentation must be provided in English; original documentation may be in another language with translation attached (any English translation is acceptable). English translations must include your name, date of birth, vaccine manufacturer, and vaccination dates. 

All students, faculty, and staff should keep the original copy of their vaccination and booster shot information card in a safe place and retain a photo of it on their phone or make a photocopy.

Undergraduate Students

All students must upload to their student health portal a photo of their required COVID-19 vaccine record showing a completed vaccination series as an “Immunization Record.” Students eligible for the booster shot must follow the same process in order to verify that they have received their required booster vaccine. Please direct questions to the Health Services nurse triage line at 802-443-3290. It may take a couple of days for your health portal to be updated with your new vaccine or booster record. Please check a few days after uploading to verify that the upload was successful before submitting the record again.

Language Schools and Bread Loaf School of English Students

All Language Schools and Bread Loaf School of English students must upload their vaccine and booster shot documentation via the Sentry MD portal.

Questions? Email Middlebury@SentryMD.com.

Employees

Middlebury has partnered with Sentry MD, a company that specializes in managing organizational health records, to create a secure and confidential process for collecting and recording employee COVID-19 vaccination information, including documentation of booster shots. Gathering this data will help us assess how many employees on campus are vaccinated and determine what workplace health and safety guidelines are needed as we transition to a fully vaccinated community.

Employees must upload their vaccine and booster documentation via the Sentry MD portal.

Questions? Email Middlebury@SentryMD.com.

Medical and Religious Exemptions

We recognize that individuals may have medical or religious needs that prevent them from receiving a vaccination and booster shot. Following are instructions for those who may qualify for medical or religious exemptions or accommodations:

• Undergraduate students who need religious or medical exemptions should complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Exemption Form and submit it to the student health portal. All other students, including those enrolled in the Language Schools and the Bread Loaf School of English must upload their medical or religious exemption request via the Sentry MD portal.   
• Employees may submit requests for medical and/or religious exemptions by completing the Vaccination Exemption Request Form on the Human Resources forms page. 
• Employees with medical conditions that may require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should complete and submit the ADA job accommodation form to initiate the accommodation process.

Vaccine Trial Participants
Individuals participating in vaccine trials should consult with trial coordinators about receiving other COVID-19 vaccinations that may impact trial results. Employees and students in these circumstances may be eligible for a medical exemption and, if so, they should submit their exemption request in accordance with the instructions above. They should also request that a member of the vaccine trial medical staff sign the medical exemption form for students (COVID-19 Vaccine Exemption Form) or employees (Vaccination Exemption Request Form), as applicable.