Frequently Asked Questions

Your eligibility for a booster depends on when you received your last dose of your primary COVID-19 vaccination series.

You’re eligible for a booster if you received:

• The Pfizer & Moderna vaccine as your primary COVID-19 vaccination and it has been at least 5 months since your second and last dose
• The Johnson & Johnson vaccine as your primary COVID-19 vaccination and it been at least 2 months since your first and only dose. 
• A WHO-approved vaccine and it has been at least 6 months since your last dose.

You can mix and match vaccines. You do not need to get the same vaccine brand for your booster as your primary COVID-19 vaccination series.

If you are ages 16-17, you can only get a Pfizer booster.  If you received a WHO-approved vaccine (other than Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson), you can only get a Pfizer booster.

You can get a booster shot at numerous locations--many area pharmacies, clinics, and public health sites are offering them.

“Fully vaccinated” currently means that the individual has completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series (i.e., two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) AND that the individual has waited the required two weeks following the final dose of the primary COVID-19 vaccination series.

The CDC has not updated this definition to incorporate COVID-19 booster shots.

Yes, even if you were vaccinated at WPI, you still need to submit your vaccination information to WPI. Students must upload their vaccination information into Medicat using this link. Employees must enter their vaccine information, including a copy of your vaccination card, into Workday by following these instructions or by going right to Workday.   

WPI is only providing approved disability/medical or religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. WPI will not grant exemptions or accommodations for philosophical reasons. To receive an exemption, you must share proof that a disability or medical condition prevents you from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine or demonstrate a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine.

WPI will accept any COVID-19 vaccine and booster approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), unless otherwise indicated by the CDC or Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

For international students not currently in the United States, if a COVID-19 vaccine is available in your country that is not on this list, we still advise that the best vaccine is the first one you can get. See additional information under International Student FAQs.

Currently, in the United States, the approved COVID-19 booster shots are: Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson.

Yes.  WPI will accepted a third COVID-19 shot in lieu of the COVID-19 booster.

No. All students, faculty, and staff must be tested at least weekly. Undergraduates and anyone who is unvaccinated must be tested twice per week.

All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in on-campus classes and/or conducting research in on-campus labs, whether they live on campus or off, are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. See the June 22, 2021 WPI community update.

As announced by President Leshin on December 16, WPI will now require that all students receive a vaccine booster shot by January 18, 2022, or within 30 days of becoming eligible, whichever is later.

Vaccination provides excellent protection against severe illness from COVID-19 and the best chance for the WPI community to continue to return to the daily activities that are so important to college life.  Currently, the CDC recommends that everyone aged 18+ get a vaccine booster shot as soon as they are eligible.

For students, WPI already requires students to be vaccinated against a wide variety of vaccine-preventable illnesses, like meningitis, measles, tuberculosis, and others that are easily spread among people who live in congregate settings or who spend time in densely populated spaces. COVID-19 is another illness that can be mitigated by vaccines.

Students must upload their vaccination information into Medicat using this link. If you are having any difficulty with Medicat, please contact Health Services.

Students can submit their request for a medical or religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement by following the instructions found at Vaccination Exemptions.

If an unvaccinated student has an approved medical or religious exemption to the primary COVID-19 vaccination series (i.e., two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine), the same vaccination exemption will apply to the COVID-19 booster.

If a vaccinated student wants to request a medical or religious exemption for the COVID-19 booster only, they can submit their request requirement by following the instructions found at Vaccination Exemptions.

Yes, both the primary COVID-19 vaccination series and the COVID-19 booster shot are required for WPI faculty and staff.

Primary COVID-19 Vaccination Series (i.e., two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine)

1. All current employees must have completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series and entered their vaccination information into Workday on or before October 11, 2021.
2. Employees hired after July 14, 2021 must be fully vaccinated prior to their first day of work at WPI and enter their vaccination information into Workday.
3. Employees classified as fully remote must be fully vaccinated on or before January 18, 2022 and enter their vaccination information into Workday.

As announced by President Leshin on December 16, WPI will now require that all faculty and staff receive a vaccine booster shot by January 18, 2022, or within 30 days of becoming eligible, whichever is later.

COVID-19 Booster Shot (i.e., a booster shot of the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine received at least 6 months after completing the primary COVID-19 vaccination series with Pfizer or Moderna or at least 2 months after completing the primary COVID-19 vaccination series with Johnson & Johnson)

1. All current employees, including employees classified as fully remote, must have completed their COVID-19 booster shot and entered their booster information into Workday on or before January 18, 2022 or within 30 days of eligibility for their booster shot.
2. Employees hired after January 18, 2022 must have completed their COVID-19 booster shot and entered their information into Workday prior to their first day of work or within 30 days of eligibility for their booster shot, whichever is earlier.
3. Unvaccinated employees who have an approved medical or religious accommodation to the primary COVID-19 vaccination series do not need to apply for another accommodation; their accommodation will apply to the booster.

Review WPI’s COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement here.

Vaccination provides excellent protection against severe illness from COVID-19 and the best chance for the WPI community to continue to return to the daily activities that are so important to college life.  Currently, the CDC recommends that everyone aged 18+ get a vaccine booster shot as soon as they are eligible.

As a federal contractor, WPI also is required to comply with the Biden Administration’s September 9 Executive Order and guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force requiring that employees of federal contractors be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Even if you were not vaccinated in Massachusetts, please follow these instructions from Mass.gov on how to request a copy of your vaccination record: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/requesting-a-copy-of-your-covid-19-vaccination-record.

Employees who were vaccinated in Massachusetts can also complete an Immunization Record Request Form from the MA Department of Public Health. Please note that this process can take up to 2 weeks.

You can sign up for a vaccination at certain pharmacies, community health centers, and health care providers in Massachusetts. You can search by zip code for these vaccination locations.

Local pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Walmart also have vaccines available; check their websites.

WPI is permitting and planning events and meetings to be held on campus in accordance with all campus, federal, state, and local guidelines. 

Please read the COVID Events Guidelines provided by the Events Office for more details.