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Vaccination Information

The information on this page is designed to serve UC San Diego campus employees and students. UC San Diego Health employees should refer to the Pulse Intranet for targeted updates.

COVID-19 Booster Mandate

All students, faculty, staff and academic appointees accessing any UC facility are required to be “fully vaccinated” or have an approved exemption per the UC vaccination policy. To remain “fully vaccinated,” students and campus employees are required to receive recommendeded booster doses within 30 days (15 days for health care employees) of becoming eligible.

If you are eligible for a booster but recently were positive for COVID-19, you will have up to 90 days after being infected to receive your booster. Your date for boosting has been extended by up to 90 days to remain compliant with the UC mandate.

Currently approved religious and permanent medical exemptions extend to boosters; there is no need to submit an additional exemption request.

COVID Bivalent Booster Vaccines

Two new COVID “booster” vaccines are now available. The new Pfizer and Moderna “bivalent” vaccines have been designed to continue to provide protection from the originally circulating SARS-CoV-2 virus while adding protection from the newer omicron strains (BA.4 and BA.5) that circulate today.

The new vaccines are intended to be given as a single “booster” dose to people who have already received the original vaccination series with any approved vaccine, with or without any subsequent booster dosing. Those who have not yet received any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine should receive two doses of one of the original vaccines, and then receive the bivalent booster at least two months after completing the initial series.

To ensure the best immune response to the vaccine and to minimize side effects, it is recommended that persons who have recently contracted COVID-19, wait at least two months before getting the bivalent booster.

Eligibility

worker preparing vaccine in hypodermic needle

No-cost COVID-19 vaccines are available at the Recreation Gym COVID-19 Vaccination Site to all UC San Diego students, faculty, staff (including Health) and students enrolled at any University of California campus. Appointments are required.

We encourage all employees and students to get vaccinated as quickly as possible and remain up to date with booster vaccines in order to protect the health and well-being of our campus community and our regional population.

In regards to the two new COVID “booster” vaccines, the new Pfizer vaccine can be given to anyone who is 12 years of age or older while the new Moderna vaccine is intended for people who are 18 or older.

Booster Appointments

Appointments for Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 bivalent vaccine boosters are available for all students and campus employees. If there is a contraindication to one of these mRNA vaccines, boosters with Johnson & Johnson can be provided by request.

International students and visiting scholars who have received the initial series of a WHO-approved vaccination are all eligible to receive an FDA-approved vaccination (Pfizer or Moderna).

The CDC has authorized a mix-and-match approach, so you can select which brand of booster vaccine you want while scheduling your appointment. 

Additional Vaccine Booster for Students and Campus Employees:

Note: At this time, a second booster dose is not required to remain compliant with the UC Vaccine Mandate.

  • Boosters are now open to all who are eligible. 

Vaccine Booster for Students and Campus Employees:

  • Pfizer vaccine booster: must be 5 months or more since you completed your initial series of Pfizer vaccine.
  • Moderna vaccine booster: must be 5 months or more since you completed your initial series of Moderna vaccine.
  • Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster: must be 2 months or more since you completed your initial dose of J&J.
  • For bivalent vaccine booster, must have already received the original vaccination series with any approved vaccine, with or without any subsequent booster dosing. The bivalent vaccine booster should be received at least two months after completing the initial series.

Locations:

  • Walk-Up: Available at the Recreation Gym's Rec Activity Room (between Main Gym and Tata Hall). You will need to remain on-site for 15 minutes after receiving your vaccination.  Appointments are available Monday – Friday: 8 AM to 4:30 PM.
  • Drive-Up: Available at the La Jolla Medical Center Drive Up location at 9460 Athena Circle. You will need to remain on-site in your vehicle for at least 15 minutes after receiving the shot for observation per CDC guidance. Appointments are available Monday – Friday: 8 AM to 4:00 PM and Saturday: 9 AM to 3:30 PM.

Scheduling Instructions:

Campus employees and students may schedule an appointment here.

Health employees should refer to the Pulse Intranet vaccine booster page.

First and Second Dose Appointments

The Recreation Gym COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic (located in the Rec Activity Room in the building between Main Gym and Tata Hall) is available by appointment only to UC San Diego students and employees (including Health) as well as students enrolled at other University of California campuses. Members of the public are not eligible.

What to bring:

  • Photo ID
  • Insurance card(s) if available

Scheduling instructions:

  1. Scheduling instructions:

    1. Please self-schedule dose 1 appointments via the UC San Diego Vaccine Scheduler.
    2. Once logged in, if you have an employee MyChart account or a student MyStudentChart account, please log into your existing account to quickly finish scheduling. Please log in using your Active Directory (AD) login credentials.
    3. If you are new to UC San Diego Health or a student from another campus, please choose “Continue as Guest” and enter all required information.
      • SSN: Enter your SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). If you have neither, enter, “000-00-0000."
      • Insurance: There is no charge to you for the vaccine. Please bring your insurance card(s) to your appointment, if available.
      • MyUCSDChart: You will receive a confirmation email with a MyUCSDChart activation code. Please create a MyUCSDChart account before your appointment.
    4. You will be required to wear a mask for the duration of your visit.
    5. You will be required to wait 15-30 minutes following your vaccination for observation.

Students under 18 years old:

A parent or legal guardian will need to complete the “Consent Form for Minors” to provide their consent in advance. Parental consent is required for all eligible minors to be vaccinated.

Second dose scheduling:

  • Following your 1st dose vaccination, we will automatically schedule your 2nd dose appointment. Second dose appointment location, date and time will show in MyUCSDChart and will be sent as a confirmation email. This 2nd appointment date may change based on vaccine availability.
  • For 2nd dose tickets for those that received dose 1 at RIMAC or other outside vaccine sites:

Flu Vaccination Appointments

Employee Flu Vaccination

Campus employees are encouraged to get the flu shot through their primary care provider or through a local pharmacy. They can also self-schedule a flu vaccine appointment at a UC San Diego Health location by visiting flu.ucsd.edu. Student employees should follow the student process below. Vaccinations will be administered by appointment only and are free for all employees.

Locations:

  • Walk-Up: Now available in Recreation Gym (located between Main Gym and Tata Hall). You will need to remain on-site for 15 minutes after receiving your vaccination.  Appointments are available Monday – Friday: 8 AM to 4:30 PM.
  • Drive-Up: Now available at the La Jolla Medical Center Drive Up location at 9460 Athena Circle. You will need to remain on-site in your vehicle for at least 15 minutes after receiving the shot for observation per CDC guidance. Appointments are available Monday – Friday: 8 AM to 4 PM and Saturday: 9 AM to 3:30 PM.

Student Flu Vaccination

There is no cost for the flu vaccine for students. Student employees should follow the student process for obtaining a flu vaccination. To find an appointment, students should go to MyStudentChart, or they can indicate they received an influenza vaccine outside of UC San Diego by going to “preventative care” from the menu or main page of the MyStudentChart site.

Alternative Vaccination Options

Campus members should seek the most immediate COVID-19 and flu vaccination opportunities that arrive. Please register on California’s MyTurn website or check the CDC’s VaccineFinder website for more appointment options to meet your needs.

Option 1:

Schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider, if offered

You may be contacted by your healthcare provider if you receive health care elsewhere other than UC San Diego Health. We encourage you to set up an appointment and get vaccinated through them if they can vaccinate you sooner.

Option 2:

Schedule an appointment at a San Diego County location

As a UC San Diego employee, you are eligible to obtain a vaccine from the County of San Diego. Appointment information for County vaccination stations.

Option 3:

Schedule an appointment with an affiliated pharmacy

  • San Diego County is partnering with numerous health care providers and organizations at locations across the region. To check for open appointments, go to San Diego County Vaccination Appointments.
  • Many pharmacy chains and supermarket pharmacies are participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination. You can check for open appointments on their websites.

Digital Vaccine Record

Employees and students can access a digital copy of their COVID-19 vaccine records through MyUCSDChart or MyStudentChart. You can generate a QR code that can soon be read by participating organizations or download a PDF record of your vaccine doses. This digital vaccine record is also known as a SMART Health Card. Students may also submit vaccines acquired outside of UC San Diego Health.

Access your vaccine record:

  • Log into MyUCSDChart (Employees) or MyStudentChart (Students).
  • Select the “Menu,” find the “My Record” section and click on “COVID-19.”
  • Select "QR codes" to generate a QR code or "Download/Export" to generate a PDF copy of your vaccine results.

About COVID-19 Vaccines

Three COVID-19 vaccines — from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — are available for adults in the U.S. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are given in two doses, approximately 21 days apart for the Pfizer vaccine and approximately 28 days apart for the Moderna vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given in one dose. All three vaccines are extremely effective at preventing severe illness for COVID-19 within a few weeks of receiving the complete dosage, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). UC San Diego Health is currently administering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. For more details, see UC San Diego Health’s Vaccine FAQs.

Review the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet
Review the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet
Review the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet

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