Students, Faculty and Staff,

Last week I watched yet another group of our students graduate and step out toward their futures. I thought back to how much they have endured to make it to such a special moment. I was so proud, and it led me to remember how much we have all endured — and how far we have all come — in the past two years.

The mission in the College of Health Sciences is to help improve the health of our community. Of course, when we say “community” we must also include ourselves, and it’s true we have much to celebrate. (President Capilouto reported last week that 90.2 percent of our campus population is either partially or fully vaccinated, a number that surpassed his goals at the beginning of the semester). I thank you all for helping us reach this important milestone.

But there is more to be done. I assure you that the University and our College are doing (and will do) everything possible to monitor the latest COVID surge in order to provide the safest and most effective learning environment for our students, faculty and staff.

I encourage you to keep reading your emails, which we will continue to use to update our findings. Your safety is our utmost concern, as is the quality of the environment we provide for education and research. Due to the ever-evolving nature of the situation, we will always use this space to let you know if additional plans or changes should be made.

Also, remember to continue to do all you can by getting vaccinated, or getting your booster or flu shots:

• All fully vaccinated adults, 18 and older, living or working in Kentucky who are at least six months past their second dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or at least two months past their single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible to receive a booster. Learn more here.
• Go to ukvaccine.org to sign up for an appointment. This sign-up process is the same one we used last academic year for our vaccine clinics.
• If you receive your booster from a non-UK provider, please upload proof of your documentation here.
• As our health care system continues to respond to the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to receive your flu shot. You can learn more about locations where flu vaccines are available here.  

Again, thank you for your resilience during this time — it is this kind of determination that will eventually lead us back to our normal routines.

Happy Holidays, take care, and continue to stay safe,

Scott