UW Students, Employees Can Avoid Quarantine by Reporting COVID

University of Wyoming students and employees now have the ability to report receiving booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines on the Student Health Service and employee HCM online systems.

Those who’ve received and reported booster shots can avoid quarantine if exposed to people infected with COVID-19. Booster shots are recommended for optimal protection against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19, including the Omicron variant.

While vaccinations are not required for UW students and employees -- instead, they’re strongly encouraged -- students and employees must report their vaccinations and boosters once they’ve received them. This allows the university to track overall vaccination numbers. The information is not being used for any other purpose, except to enter those who’ve reported their vaccinations into drawings for prizes. The university’s privacy protocols are being followed.

To upload documentation to the Student Health Service patient portal, take a photo of your vaccination document and upload the picture here: http://patientportal.uwyo.edu, using your regular UW user ID and password. This is the same portal where students report their mandatory vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella. Alternatively, students can report their vaccinations and boosters by emailing photos of their vaccination documents to Student Health at studenthealth@uwyo.edu.

For employees, a quick reference guide has been created to help report vaccinations within UW’s HCM. A third row has been added to the “COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Status” field in the HCM allowing employees to add their booster shot dates.

For those who test positive for COVID-19 -- regardless of vaccination status -- the isolation requirements are the same, under Centers for Disease Control and Wyoming Department of Health guidance:

-- Stay home for five days.

-- If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after five days, you can leave your house.

-- Continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days.

-- If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves.

For those exposed to people with COVID-19, quarantine requirements differ depending on vaccination status.

For those exposed who’ve reported receiving boosters; reported completing the primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last six months; or reported completing the primary series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last two months, the requirements are:

-- Wear a mask around others for 10 days.

-- Test on day five, if possible.

-- If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home.

For those exposed who are unvaccinated; completed the primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over six months ago and are not boosted; or completed the primary series of Johnson & Johnson over two months ago and are not boosted, the requirements are:

-- Stay home for five days. After that, continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days.

-- If you can’t quarantine, wear a mask for 10 days.

-- Test on day five, if possible.

-- If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home.

Vaccines, which are widely available for free in the community, have been proven to be highly effective and safe. Booster shots also are available for those who were vaccinated earlier and have been shown to be effective in preventing severe illness and hospitalization, even with the Omicron variant.

UW students and employees can receive COVID-19 vaccines and boosters at several locations in Laramie. They include: Walmart, Walgreens, Pole Mountain Pharmacy, Ridley’s, Stitches Acute Care, Laramie Pediatrics, Albany Community Health Clinic, Ivinson Medical Group, the Downtown Clinic and Family Physicians of Laramie. Vaccines also may soon be available at UW’s Student Health Service.