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Vaccine Requirement

Protect Yourself and Each Other

Just as UHart provides clinics for flu vaccines, we will also offer COVID vaccine clinics for first, second, and booster doses throughout the year.

For the 2022–23 academic year, COVID vaccinations and boosters are strongly recommended, but not required, for University of Hartford students, faculty, and staff. 

This decision from UHart's COVID Steering Committee comes after much thoughtful discussion, the continued monitoring of public health conditions locally and beyond, and consultation with our state, education, and health care partners. The State Department of Public Health has opted not to add the COVID vaccine to its list of required vaccinations for schooling, including K–12, and Connecticut state colleges and universities are not requiring vaccination.

Vaccine status does not need to be updated with the University at this time.

Why Vaccinate?

Science continues to show that the vaccine is safe, effective, and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

  • The COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19 and will help build immunity to help stop the pandemic—and you'll be able to get back to doing the things you love sooner and safer!
  • COVID-19 vaccines also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
  • Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

Vaccinations: Get the Facts

vaccine image

Read a few common myths and facts and learn more about the importance of getting vaccinated on the CDC website. 

Get the Facts
Myth or Fact: Myth

The COVID-19 vaccine will make me sick with COVID-19—None of the authorized and recommended vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

Myth or Fact: Myth

The COVID-19 vaccination will alter my DNA—False! COVID-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.

Myth or Fact: Fact

You should still get vaccinated if you've already had COVID-19—True! You should be vaccinated 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.

COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

All three vaccines on the market went through extensive clinical trails to generate this safety data prior to their approval. The FDA carefully reviews all safety data from the clinical trials of the available vaccines and only authorizes emergency vaccine use when the expected benefits outweigh potential risks.

We recommend visiting vaccines.gov as a first step. Click on “Find COVID-19 Vaccines” to search by your zip code. You can also search on your state’s vaccine website. For example:

CT: Connecticut COVID-19 Vaccine Portal 
NJ: NJ Vaccine Appointment Finder 
NY: COVID-19 Vaccine
Mass: COVID-19 Vaccine Availability

Vaccines are free for everyone. Vaccines were paid for with taxpayer dollars and will be given to all people living in the United States, regardless of insurance or immigration status.

Educate and Encourage

Hear first-hand from UHart nursing students on why they choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Nevaeh McKinney

It was an extreme privilege to be in the first round of vaccinations. But there was a reason for me to be among the first group to receive the vaccine, and that was caring for patients. This spring I have been assigned to a nursing home for my first nursing clinical rotation. There is a lot of stigma behind this vaccine, but that honestly did not matter to me. I could not care for my clinical patients with the utmost focus, respect, and protection if I’m worrying about getting them sick. I believe that we all need to remember where we were a year ago—those were some of the hardest days of our lives. Many were prevented from seeing their loved ones and that is something I never want people to have to go through again. This year I knew what it felt like to lose someone in my family to COVID-19. I know there are hundreds of thousands of other people who have had to go through the same thing. That is why it was that much more important to me to get the vaccine and encourage others to do the same when it’s their turn.

Gema Grandados '23

The reason why I chose to get vaccinated was because I wanted to protect those who are most at risk of contracting the virus. As a future healthcare professional, I am entering a field where I must think of others. My actions and decisions will one day affect those I take care of and I took my first step in this lifelong journey by vaccinating myself! I encourage everyone to educate themselves about the vaccine and to make sure they are getting their information from trusted sources like Hartford Healthcare.

Josh Jaggon

The reason I decided to get the COVID-19 vaccine was because I was tired of all the stress that came with dealing with COVID. With so many important things going on in our lives with classes and work, knowing that I am protected from COVID-19 helps take a weight off my shoulders. It's such a relief to not have to worry about what I would do if I ended up getting sick. College is already stressful enough as it is but missing classes and having work pile up while you are forced to recover from COVID-19 is a nightmare I'm glad I never have to experience. I also decided to get vaccinated because I wanted to protect my family. As a nursing student, I travel back and forth from hospitals where there is a much higher risk of encountering people who are sick but being vaccinated gives me an extra layer of protection against COVID-19. This also protects my family. Overall, I'm glad I decided to get vaccinated and hope that everyone will do the same, so we can finally have life go back to normal.