Governor’s Vaccination Mandate Follow-Up

As reported yesterday, Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker issued a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for students and employees at all public and private higher education institutions. The mandate states if someone is unable to get vaccinated or doesn’t get vaccinated by Sept. 5, 2021, they will be enrolled in our testing protocols.

In yesterday’s campus communication, we committed to providing you with more information as decisions are made.

Where to Get Vaccinated

To sign up for a vaccination appointment on campus, use this link or find an off-campus location by clicking here. We have added additional on-campus vaccination appointments for next week.

How to Submit Vaccination Status

Please submit your status even if you are only partially vaccinated. If you haven’t submitted your vaccination status, please do so immediately by submitting it via the information below. If you’ve lost your vaccination card and were vaccinated in Illinois, the state has launched a Vax Verify portal to obtain your information. If you don’t submit your vaccination status you’ll be part of the campus COVID-19 testing for the fall.

STUDENT REPORTING EMPLOYEE REPORTING

covid19symptoms@bradley.edu

covidvaccines@bradley.edu

Health Services, Markin Center

Human Resources, Sisson Hall #239

Current Numbers

Our COVID-19 Dashboard is live as of today. Daily positive test numbers will be reported each afternoon and the weekly cumulative data and vaccination status data will be reported Friday afternoons.

Employee vaccination numbers were incorrectly reported in yesterday’s Vaccine Mandate announcement. We currently stand at 66% of students and 63% of employees being vaccinated.

Exemption Process

Those who can’t be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of a documented medical reason or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance may request an exemption. Exemptions are not guaranteed. Personal and philosophical reasons for not getting vaccinated are insufficient, and requests of this nature will be denied. Each request will be carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis according to the established guidelines and contraindications. Each case must be supported by specific documentation.

Please allow several days for your request to be processed. After your request has been reviewed and processed, you’ll be notified by email if an exemption has been granted or denied. The decision is final and not subject to appeal. Individuals are permitted to reapply if new documentation and information becomes available. If an exemption is granted, you’ll still be required to be part of campus testing.

Exemptions should be filed by Sept. 5, 2021. The process for filing an exemption is as follows:

Students

Medical exemption: Download and fill out the Request for Medical Exemption form and sign it. Your physician must fill out and sign their required portion of the form as well.

Religious exemptions: Download and fill out the Request for Religious Exemption form and upload it with all applicable attachments as required.

The forms and applicable attachments must be submitted together.

STUDENT EXEMPTIONS

Employees

Medical exemption: Download and fill out the Request for Medical Exemption form and sign it. Your physician must fill out and sign their required portion of the form as well.

Religious exemptions: Download and fill out the Request for Religious Exemption form and upload it with all applicable attachments as required.

All forms and applicable attachments must be submitted together.

EMPLOYEE EXEMPTIONS

Testing Protocols

If you aren’t fully vaccinated or haven’t supplied the university with your status, you’ll be a part of the campus COVID-19 testing for the fall. If you’ve been granted a vaccination exception, you’ll still be required to participate in campus testing this fall.

We’re outlining our testing protocols and details at this time. We’ll share testing information with the campus community late next week. These testing protocols are also dependent on the vaccination information we receive prior to Sept. 5.

Non-residential Program

For students enrolled in either our fully online or non-residential programs, the COVID-19 vaccination will not be required unless you plan to be on Bradley's campus at some point this academic year. However, please note individual programs may require the vaccination. Information from those programs requiring a vaccine will come at a later date. If your program requires you to be on campus, the vaccine mandate information applies to you prior to your arrival.

As previously communicated, Bradley is not offering a remote option for its traditional face-to-face classes. We remain optimistic the COVID-19 conditions won’t warrant such a future move for Bradley University.

As new information develops, we’ll communicate with you and update the Bradley Unite website. Please know some information being posted online may be delayed, but we’re working as quickly as possible to make those updates. Remember, all of our decisions are subject to change. Questions and concerns regarding COVID-19 and Bradley University policies can be sent to covid19concerns@bradley.edu.

Thank you for your patience as we all navigate the ever changing landscape of this pandemic. We’re all in this together. #BradleyUnite!

–sent to students and employees 8/27