All UW Employees Can Schedule Vaccination Appointments Starting Today

Albany County’s COVID-19 vaccination program today (Monday) enters Phase 1c, priority groups 1-3, of the Wyoming Department of Health priority tiers, meaning all University of Wyoming employees are eligible to make appointments.

The list of those who qualify under groups 1-3 of Phase 1c includes people between the ages of 50 and 64; individuals with moderate to severe asthma, hypertension, high blood pressure, liver disease and those who are overweight; and essential critical infrastructure workers. UW faculty and staff members qualify under the “essential critical infrastructure workers” category.

“This is a great development for the entire campus community, and we so appreciate the hard work of the state Department of Health and the Albany County vaccination team to make the vaccines available,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “With this step, we’re that much closer to achieving our objective of having a more traditional semester in the fall. We encourage everyone to sign up and be vaccinated as soon as possible.”

There are several options individuals who are eligible to receive their vaccine can choose to schedule appointments:

-- Ivinson Memorial Hospital My Health Connection -- Individuals who qualify based on age and are currently signed up for My Health Connection may receive a self-scheduling link via email to book appointments. If you’ve already signed up on My Health Connection, you are on Albany County’s vaccination list, even though the language on the site references Colorado and UC Health.

-- Albany County Vaccine Call Center -- Individuals who are eligible in Phase 1a, 1b or 1c can call (307) 766-8222 to schedule their vaccination appointments. Due to high call volumes, individuals should remain patient and try again later if their calls do not go through initially.

-- Approved Primary Care Clinics -- Albany County Public Health received a limited number of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and has distributed the doses equally among approved sites. Eligible patients of Laramie Pediatrics, Albany County Community Health Clinic, the Downtown Clinic, Family Physicians of Laramie or Ivinson Medical Group can contact their providers to learn about vaccine availability.

-- Walmart Pharmacy -- Walmart has received a federal allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible individuals can visit the Walmart website to schedule appointments.

-- Walgreens Pharmacy -- Walgreens has received a federal allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible individuals can visit the Walgreens website to schedule appointments.

-- Pole Mountain Pharmacy -- Pole Mountain has received a county allotment for the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible individuals can visit the Pole Mountain website to schedule appointments.

Those who need assistance to travel for their vaccinations may request rides by calling UW Transit and Parking Services at (307) 766-7433. Requests should be scheduled in advance, if possible. Callers should indicate if the transportation is vaccination related and if any special accommodations are needed.

While vaccinations are not required for UW employees, they’re strongly encouraged. And, to allow the university to track overall vaccination numbers to inform plans for the fall semester, employees must report their vaccinations once they’ve received them. To report receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, employees will click on Career and Performance under My Profile in HCM. From the Career and Performance page, click Skills and Qualifications. The section of this page containing the opt-in to COVID-19 testing has been updated to include the ability to report receiving the vaccine. Under COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Status, click Add, then select the vaccine provider received as well as date(s) received. Employees can edit this section multiple times, allowing for entering of an initial dose, then returning to enter the date of the second dose. Completing the opt-in to COVID-19 testing contained in the same block is not required.

As Albany County continues to receive increased vaccine supply, rapid vaccine events will be scheduled. Eligible individuals will be able to schedule appointments at the rapid events through the Vaccine Call Center or My Health Connection.

As of Friday, Albany County vaccine clinics had administered 5,174 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s expected that the clinics will administer 1,800 vaccinations this week.

Questions specifically about the vaccine should be emailed to COVIDVX@uwyo.edu. Additional information is available on UW’s COVID vaccine webpage.