The University adopted its COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of the campus community including the patients that are treated by its faculty and staff in University, UC Health, and Children’s Hospital clinics. The University determined that a mandatory vaccination requirement for its employees and students is the best way to accomplish this goal.
The university’s Campus Administrative Policy 3012 allows individuals to be exempted from the policy for religious or medical reasons.
The facts and circumstances of each exemption request are considered by a review committee which includes individuals from the legal office and Human Resource for employee exemption requests or the relevant School/College or Program for student exemption requests to determine whether the exemption request meets the legal and policy requirements that allow for individuals to be exempted from the vaccine requirement. The committee may consider other circumstances in its review such as whether the individual has received vaccinations for other diseases in the past. For employees, the committee also evaluates whether the accommodation sought (not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine) poses an undue burden on the University.
A review committee consisting of individuals from Occupational Health and the Legal office also reviews each medical exemption request individually to determine whether the request meets the policy criteria, relying primarily on the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FDA, ACIP and relevant state laws, including 6 CCR 1011-1. A medical exemption is allowed if the individual is unable to receive any COVID-19 vaccination based on established contraindications or if known effects of the vaccine may cause a serious or life-threatening complications of an individual's medical condition. Individual's requesting exemption for medical reasons must provide sufficient detail regarding their medical history to allow determination whether these criteria are met.
CU Anschutz strives to be a public health leader in Colorado and beyond, and implement campus policies that remain reflective of its values and mission.