Vaccines at UW-Stevens Point:

FOR STUDENTS at Student Health Services in Delzell Hall:

• Walk in Mondays and Thursdays, 1 - 3 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9 - 11 a.m.
  
• Call for an appointment weekdays at 715-346-4646.
  
  

An important step toward returning to an active, engaging campus is getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Everyone age 5 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin. 

Vaccines are available at numerous local pharmacies, health care providers and public health clinics. To find a location near you, go to the COVID-19 vaccine provider map or www.vaccines.gov.

For more information on vaccines, see the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Frequently Asked Questions site as well as the CDC vaccination site.

Students and employees who are fully vaccinated (or up-to-date, which includes the booster shot) and want to receive an exemption from COVID-19 testing may now submit their immunization record through a secure online portal: https://www.uwsp.edu/C19TestingExemption 

This verification process may take up to 5 business days. Thank you for your participation and patience! 

Individuals at UW-Stevens Point are exempt from testing if ALL of the following conditions are met: 

• The individual is fully vaccinated, which means two weeks have passed since your vaccine series was completed. 
• The individual is asymptomatic, showing no signs of COVID-19 infection.  
• The individual has submitted a copy of their vaccination record, either from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or photo of their COVID-19 vaccine card and received confirmation of exemption via email from the COVID-19 Hotline.  
  

Individuals may submit vaccination records in the following ways:  

1. Submit your initial series online at https://www.uwsp.edu/C19TestingExemption and your booster dose update here.
   

2. Those unable to use the online option may contact the COVID-19 Hotline to discuss other arrangements. Email or call the hotline at 715-346-2619. (Do NOT email a copy of your vaccine record.)
   

When you have received email verification of exemption, you may cease testing.  Those who are fully up-to-date with their vaccination additonally do not have to quarantine.

If you begin to feel COVID-19 symptoms, you are expected to be tested to ensure the safety of others and assist in the national evaluation of the vaccine. 

Note: If your COVID-19 immunization is not on your immunization record or you were vaccinated out of state, please work with your local health department or the location you received the immunization(s) to get a copy of the record. 

Supervisors may monitor the COVID-19 Testing Exemption List for their employees under Knowledge View and Reports in the eForm system. 

If you are fully vaccinated (it has been two weeks since completing your vaccination series):

• Submit your vaccination records as stated in the previous question.
  
• Once this step is complete and you have met the stated conditions for full vaccination:
• You are exempt from Daily Symptom Screening.
• You are exempt from testing at UWSP.
• If you are up-to-date on your vaccinations (full series of Pfizer or Moderna or one does of J&J plus booster)
• You are exempt from quarantine after a close encounter.

NOTE: For up-to-date (boosted) vaccinated individuals (students and employees), following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 – testing (but not quarantine) is advised 3-5 days after exposure. 

Learn more about the CDC's recommendations for those who are fully vaccinated. We're still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. 

Vaccination records:

You have received a vaccination card - you can take a photo of this to have it electronically, or access your record from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR). Follow the instructions under "Public Immunization Record Access."

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

Up-to-date means a person has received all their recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible.

Fully vaccinated means a person has received their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.

Learn more here.

UWSP will follow CDC guidance - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html.

• Fully vaccinated AND up-to-date (with CDC EUA or WHO EUL COVID vaccine and booster dose):
• Test 3-5 days after travel
  
• Self-monitor for symptoms; isolate and get tested if develop symptoms
• No quarantine
  
  
• Not fully vaccinated:
• Test 3-5 days after travel
  
• Quarantine after travel for 7 days with a negative test result on day 5 or later OR 10 days without a test; isolate and get tested if develop symptoms
  
  
• All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 viral test result no more than 3 days before travel or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months before they board a flight to the United States.

According to the Wis. Department of Health Services:

No safety steps were skipped during the development of COVID-19 vaccines. A number of factors allowed safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to be available quickly:

• Earlier research on other coronaviruses (SARS and MERS) jump started the COVID-19 vaccine development process. SARS was first detected in 2002, while MERS was first detected in 2012, and both have been researched ever since.
• Through ground-breaking partnerships between leading medical experts, scientists were able to build on lessons learned from past pandemics (Zika, Ebola, H1N1) to make the COVID-19 vaccines.
• Medical experts and other key players all dedicated their time, effort, and resources to developing COVID-19 vaccines.
• Issuing an EUA shortened the official process, but did not skip any safety steps. For example, the FDA invited more experts to review than usual. With all hands on deck, the review process was shortened from months to weeks. The EUA allowed faster public access to vaccines.

The FDA approves a vaccine for use only if it is proven safe and effective, after clinical trials have been conducted with thousands of people, and when its benefits outweigh any risks. The COVID-19 vaccine builds on years of scientific research and an unprecedented level of scientific investment and cooperation. Every study and every phase of every trial was carefully reviewed and approved by a safety board and the FDA. The process was transparent and rigorous throughout, with continual oversight and expert approval.

The identification of what is approximately a less than two-in-a-million risk of blood clotting disorder associated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a sign that the nation's safety monitoring system for COVID-19 vaccines is working. After any vaccine is successful in clinical trials and it is authorized for use, the FDA continues to monitor it for safety. The pause in the use of the J and J vaccine allowed scientists to evaluate each incident of the clotting disorder. They determined that the level of risk was very low and that the benefits of continued use of the J and J vaccine greatly outweigh any risk associated with it.

The likelihood of a meidally significant reaction is extremely low. Temporary side effects like soreness, headaches, or a mild fever are signs that the body is responding and building an immunity to the virus. They typically go away in a day or two. source

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of whether you already had COVID-19. That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Studies have shown that vaccination provides a strong boost in protection in people who have recovered from COVID-19. Learn more about why getting vaccinated is a safer way to build protection than getting infected.

If you were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, you should wait 90 days before getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Talk to your healthcare professional if you are unsure what treatments you received or if you have more questions about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

If you or your child have a history of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults or children (MIS-A or MIS-C), consider delaying vaccination until you have recovered from being sick and for 90 days after the date of diagnosis of MIS-A or MIS-C. Learn more about the clinical considerations people with a history of MIS-A or MIS-C.

Experts are still learning more about how long vaccines protect against COVID-19 in real-world conditions. CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available. source

Note that being vaccine will neither give you COVID-19 nor cause a positive test. 

No, getting the COVID-19 vaccine will not affect your fertility. Women actively trying to conceive may be vaccinated with the current COVID-19 vaccines. There is no reason to delay pregnancy after competing the vaccine series.

Confusion around this issue arose when a false report surfaced on social media saying that the spike protein on this coronavirus was the same as another spike protein called syncitin-1, which is involved in the growth and attachment of the placenta during pregnancy. The false report said that getting the COVID-19 vaccine would cause a woman's body to fight this different spike protein and affect her fertility. The two spike proteins are completely different, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine will not affect the fertility of women who are seeking to become pregnant, including through in-vitro fertilization methods. During the Pfizer vaccine tests, 23 women volunteers involved in the study became pregnant, and the only one in the trial who suffered a pregnancy loss had not received the actual vaccine, but a placebo. source

On July 30, 2021, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) updated their practice advisory:  Claims linking COVID-19 vaccines to infertility are unfounded and have no scientific evidence supporting them. ACOG recommends that all eligible persons, including pregnant and lactating individuals and those who may consider future pregnancy, receive a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine series.  COVID-19 Vaccination Considerations for Obstetric-Gynecologic Care 

See also from the CDC: COVID-19 vaccines while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Breakthrough infections  

• From January 1, 2021 through July 22, 2021, 98.4% of COVID-19 infections in Wisconsin have been amongst people who are not fully vaccinated.
  

• It's rare, but a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may become infected with COVID-19. These are called breakthrough infections. 

• The word breakthrough can refer to any presumed infection by SARS-CoV-2 (that is, any positive diagnostic COVID-19 test) if it's detected once someone is fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated means it has been more than two weeks after someone received the final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

• People who experience breakthrough COVID-19 infection often report mild or no symptoms. These infections are usually discovered during routine testing or screening.  
  

• Even with a breakthrough infection, COVID-19 vaccines are still doing their job to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death.  

• They can also reduce the likelihood of spreading the virus to others.  
  

The Delta Variant FACT SHEET, CDC info

• 100% of positive cases in Wisconsin are the Delta variant and 99% nationally.
• The Delta variant, the predominant strain of the virus in the U.S., is highly contagious and causes more severe illness than the novel coronavirus. 
  

The Omicron Variant, CDC info
This variant was classified Nov. 26 by the World Health Organization. It has:

• increased transmissibility
• increased virulence or change in clinical presentation of the disease
  
• decrease in effectiveness of public health and social preventative measures
  

Variants

• Vaccines are a key tool in limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and can provide less opportunity for the virus to mutate and become variants of concern. 
  

• Variants are different versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; they are not new viruses. Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur.

• So far, studies show that the currently available vaccines provide some level of protection against known variants of concern.
  
  

• Like all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines' effectiveness against these and other emerging variants will continue to be closely monitored. 

• The major concern would be a new variant of high consequence that could result in a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness. 
  

• Unvaccinated people are more likely to contract and transmit this variant. While a vaccinated person with a breakthrough infection may transmit the variant, they are infectious for less time. 
  

• Face coverings reduce the transmission of this variant, which is especially important as infection rates grow among children and the immunocompromised.
  

According to Dr. Helen Luce, medical director at UWSP Student Health Service, you do not need to restart the series, you just need to get the second shot. It is best if you get the same vaccine that you got for the first dose. If you have your vaccination card from your first dose, you should take it along with you.

The best way to find a location for this second shot is to go to www.vaccines.gov and enter your zip code and mile radius for travel. You can choose to see locations that have the vaccine you need (Pfizer or Moderna) in their inventory. Each location has their address and phone number and a link that will show details such as whether appointments are required, if you can just walk in for a shot, available hours, etc.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the recommendation that certain populations who have increased risk of exposure to or transmission of COVID-19 receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s (Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after having received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

DHS recommends that the following populations SHOULD receive a booster dose of Pfizer at least 6 months after receiving their second dose of Pfizer in order to further strengthen their immunity:

You have options. If you received your vaccination in Wisconsin and you have a social security number, Medicaid ID, or Health Care Member ID, you can access your record through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry Public Immunization Record Access.

If you do not have one of these numbers listed above, you can access your record one of two ways:

• Option 1: Fill out the Wisconsin Immunization Registry Record Release Authorization, F-02487 and have your records sent to you.
• Option 2: Ask the organization that vaccinated you to assign you a chart number in Wisconsin Immunization Registry. The chart number field is linked to the Health Care Member ID.
• Then, visit the Public Immunization Record Access webpage and enter the chart number assigned to you in the Health Care Member ID field.
  

If you received your vaccination in another state, go to that state department of health's website to search their vaccine registry.

​According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS):