Date: January 19, 2021
To:  THE NYU COMMUNITY
From:  Provost Katherine Fleming
Exec. Vice President Martin Dorph
Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, MD, MPA, Exec. Lead, NYU COVID-19 Prevention & Response Team

NYU Community Members Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccinations - An Update on Availability

We encourage all members of the community to be vaccinated, and we are working to support that effort. We know that many of you are eager to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

We want you to know where things stand.

We are in the process of identifying all the Phase 1A and 1B NYUers (i.e., those currently eligible for vaccinations according to the state’s phased distribution plan). We will continue the process of reaching out to them and directing them how to sign up for vaccinations at NYU Langone Health, which has set aside appointments for NYU community members. At the same time, we have been converting part of the first floor of Bobst Library into a vaccination center, and getting the Student Health Center (726 Broadway) and 6 MetroTech in Brooklyn ready to be vaccination centers as well, so that we can vaccinate more people more quickly.

However, from the start, demand for the vaccinations has severely exceeded supply — here at NYU, throughout NYC, and nationally. Moreover, there is uncertainty about when and how much additional vaccine NYULH will be getting or when the three vaccination centers on campus — at Bobst, 726 Broadway, and in Brooklyn — will receive their first shipment of the vaccine.

The result? While some NYU community members in Phase 1A and 1B have not received the expected communication from the University or have not yet received an appointment at Langone, approximately 3,000 NYUers in 1A and 1B were able to make appointments. While things might be going more slowly than we would wish due to the limits on how many people NYULH can vaccinate each week (both because of vaccine availability and Langone’s capacity), Langone is continuing to make vaccination slots available to members of our community as availability permits.

Our goal is to get as many eligible members of our community vaccinated as quickly as possible. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and will be in regular touch with you about developments. Rest assured, everyone in Phase 1A or 1B will hear from us, as vaccination appointments become available.

In the meantime, if you are able to get an appointment some other way — through the New York State COVID vaccination website, through the City COVID vaccination site (here and here), your health provider, or another vaccination distribution center — you should not hesitate to sign up for it if you are eligible.

Quarantine for Spring Semester

As we approach the start of spring classes on January 28, all students, faculty, and staff who have come to New York from outside New York and its five contiguous states (CT, MA, NJ, PA, VT) must quarantine in line with New York State guidelines.

Note: some schools or programs may have schedules that differ from the overall University academic calendar; when there is a discrepancy, please follow the guidance from your dean’s office.

All NYU students, faculty, and staff are required to notify the COVID-19 Prevention & Response Team (CPRT) via this form upon your return to NY; after you complete this form, you will receive additional instruction from CPRT. Before you are permitted in NYU buildings, you must receive a written clearance from CPRT.

Note: residential students returning from outside of the five contiguous states before February 1 should NOT complete this form but instead should follow the instructions provided by Residential Life and Housing Services.

Some 1,600 students moved into student residence halls this weekend to begin their quarantine. We welcome them, and remind them that, against the backdrop of higher transmission rates nationally and the emergence of more contagious variants, it is important to follow the quarantine rules strictly in order to keep each other safe.

The terms of the quarantine will be strictly enforced.

Changes to Testing, the Daily Screener, and Access to NYU Facilities

Last week, we sent out information about how we are tightening up the interrelated rules for on-going testing, the use of the Daily Screener, and access to non-residential NYU buildings. As a reminder, if this is your first time on-campus, you do not need to submit your Binx or NYU BioReference test results yourself — the results are automatically transmitted to the University’s COVID Prevention & Response Team.

For the most part, if you remain conscientious about coming to campus only if you are authorized, getting tested on schedule, and filling out the Daily Screener every morning — while you are home — before you leave for classes or work, you won’t notice too much of a change. However, because of higher transmission rates and the emergence of the new, more contagious variant of COVID-19, we will be enforcing compliance with the rules more strictly.

Keep each other Safe