Leading studies suggests that receiving booster vaccines is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and the community against Omicron and other COVID-19 variants. 

For that reason, given data and counsel from public health experts indicating that booster shots are critical to enhancing immunity and public health, Xavier University will require all eligible students, faculty and staff to receive a booster shot prior to the start of the spring semester, or as soon as they become eligible.

If you completed your second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine less than 6 months ago or your J&J vaccine less than 2 months ago, you may not be eligible for a booster by the time of the January 24, 2022 deadline. In that case, you will have 30 days from the day of your booster eligibility in spring semester to get and submit your booster. For example, if you completed your mRNA vaccine series on August 1, 2021, you would be eligible for the booster on February 1, 2022 and would have until March 1, 2022 to fulfill this requirement.

Individuals who previously received other World Health Organization-approved vaccinations should receive a Pfizer booster dose if they received their initial vaccine series at least six months ago, in accordance with CDC guidance

• Mail: Xavier University of LA, 1 Drexel Drive - Box 36, New Orleans, LA 70125
• Drop Off: Xavier University of LA, St. Joseph Academic & Health Resource Center, Suite 217                                                                                                                   
• Fax: (504)520-7962   
• Secure Upload into Patient Portal: You first have to receive your Xavier Login Information (email address) and Student ID prior to uploading the Immunization Compliance Form. (Note: It takes approximately 24-48 hours for the Xavier’s system to link with the Patient Portal.

Please allow 3-5 days for information to be processed.

Yes. The CDC recommends all eligible adults receive a COVID booster, even if they had COVID in the past. Natural immunity from prior COVID illness varies and is not as strong as immunity from vaccines, which leaves you more susceptible to repeat infection. More information is available here. If you received monoclonal antibody treatment during your COVID illness, you must wait 90 days to receive your booster.

If you are eligible, you can get the booster when you have completed your isolation period and your symptoms have resolved. Talk to your healthcare provider for individual scenarios. If you received monoclonal antibody treatment during your COVID illness, you must wait 90 days to receive your booster.

If you already have a medical or religious exemption on file with Student Health for the COVID vaccine, you are also exempt from the booster. You will need to continue to comply with weekly COVID PCR testing.

Students attending on-campus classes may request an exemption from the booster requirement for medical or religious reasons only. Request for Medical Exemptions or Religious Exemptions forms.

Any students whose course registration is limited to correspondence courses, online classes and/or online programs, or any other courses that do not require meeting physically on campus for any reason or at any time will be excluded from submitting proof of the COVID-19 booster.

Exemptions are not allowed for those students residing in on-campus housing.

Yes, you can receive a COVID vaccine/booster at the same time as another vaccine (like the flu vaccine).

Students who are out of compliance with either the COVID booster requirement or COVID PCR testing requirement will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Your ability to complete academic assignments may be impacted until you submit booster documentation or test results to Student Health Services.

Any student who will reside in one of our residence halls must present a negative COVID test 48 hours before their assigned move-in date. Any student who plans to be on campus for any reason must also submit a COVID negative test 48 hours before arriving on campus. If you are fully virtual and have no plans to come to campus in the spring, you do not need to submit a test.

PCR test are required.

Yes, but you must quarantine in an assigned quarantine room until the test results are received and submitted to SHS. If the results come back negative, you can end self-quarantine. If they come back positive, you will be placed in isolation for 10 days.

Lab reports will be needed that include:

• Identification information, such as student name and date of birth
• Type of test administered
• Test date
• Results
• Name and address of lab

No. Testing is required prior to arrival.

Yes, you can self-quarantine off campus on your own with friends or family, but please notify housing of your plan and arrange for a new move-in date and time.

Please contact SHS at 504.520.7396. Our medical staff will assist you with your COVID Positive Plan and connect you with resources you may need. If you are still at home, you should delay your travel and contact your healthcare provider for evaluation. You cannot come to campus until you have met requirements to leave isolation, are no longer contagious, and have been cleared by SHS.

If you do not develop symptoms, isolation can usually end 10 days after the positive test. If you do develop symptoms, follow the guidance of your healthcare provider. Typically, isolation can end after a minimum of 10 days and at least 24 hours of symptom improvement, including no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications like Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.

If you test positive after moving on campus, you should call SHS at 504.520.7396 immediately, available Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. SHS will help students enact their COVID Positive Plan. If a student tests positive or receives the notification of exposure to coronavirus after hours or on weekends when SHS is closed please notify your Resident Assistant immediately. 

If you are still at home, you should delay your travel and contact your healthcare provider for evaluation and testing. If you test positive, you cannot come to campus until you have met requirements to leave isolation and are no longer contagious. The minimum time for isolation if diagnosed with COVID is 10 days and at least 24 hours of symptom improvement, including no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications (Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.).

If you develop symptoms after moving on campus, you should call SHS at 504.520.7396 for a telephone screening, available Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. If you test positive, SHS will help you enact your COVID Positive Plan. If you test positive or receive the notification of exposure to coronavirus after hours or on weekends when SHS is closed, please notify your Resident Assistant immediately. 

If you are still home, you should delay your travel and quarantine for 10 days starting from the day of your last contact with the person who tested positive. If you have already moved onto campus call SHS at 504.520.7396, available Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  If you receive the notification after hours or on weekends when SHS is closed, please notify your Resident Assistant immediately. You will need to complete a 10-day quarantine period.

Xavier’s rules are different because we maintain the highest possible safety guidelines for our community, which goes beyond CDC guidelines. We also consider NIH, CDC and World Health Organization in making decisions to determine the maximum safety of our community.

Xavier University will require all students – undergraduate, graduate, and professional – to be fully vaccinated as a condition of enrollment for the 2021–22 academic year. (Vaccine Letter Fall 2021).  These requirements are designed to facilitate the resumption of full, in-person campus activity and reduce the risk of infection on campus and within the local community.

Xavier strongly urges members of its community to get an available appointment for vaccination wherever they can as soon as they become eligible. Anyone 5 years of age or over and living, studying or working on Xavier’s campus is eligible to be vaccinated in Louisiana; see https://covidvaccine.la.gov/ for vaccine information and locations. Out of state residents should contact their local or state authorities for information.

Given vaccine penetration in the US and projections related to supply in the coming months, it is our expectation that students in the United States should be able to get fully vaccinated prior to their arrival at Xavier. Assuming the continued availability of vaccines, those students who are unable to access the COVID-19 vaccine prior to arrival, especially international students, should be able to get vaccinated in Louisiana and, we expect, very likely on Xavier’s campus when they arrive in New Orleans.

The driving force behind our vaccination requirement for students is to protect the health and safety of our community—and the Xavier community—to the fullest extent possible, and to enable our students to engage in-person and more fully in various aspects of university life than they have since the onset of the pandemic.  Xavier will continue to make safety the primary consideration in its decision-making, and to rely on the most up-to-date scientific information available to make informed decisions about its operations.

As is the case with all vaccination requirements for students, students may request religious and medical exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Xavier is currently accepting vaccines that are authorized in the United States by the FDA or those authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

We strongly encourage all eligible students to immediately seek out and receive COVID-19 vaccines that are nationally approved, if not FDA or WHO approved, wherever they are.

Xavier is awaiting guidance from US authorities on how to manage students who have received vaccines not approved for use in the US. We intend to facilitate the needs of these students (if any) based on this guidance.

Instructions to submit your vaccination record:

Mail: Xavier University of LA, 1 Drexel Drive - Box 36, New Orleans, LA 70125

Drop Off: Xavier University of LA, St. Joseph Academic & Health Resource Center, Suite 217                                                                                                                   

Fax: (504)520-7962   

Secure Upload into Patient Portal: You first have to receive your Xavier Login Information (email address) and Student ID prior to uploading the Immunization Compliance Form. (Note: It takes approximately 24-48 hours for the Xavier’s system to link with the Patient Portal.

Xavier is currently accepting vaccines that are authorized in the United States by the FDA (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines) or those authorized by the World Health Organization (e.g., AstraZeneca/Oxford and Sinopharm).

If you’ve been vaccinated with a vaccine that meets those criteria, then yes, you should submit it.

If you received a vaccine that is not authorized by the FDA or WHO, please do not submit proof of vaccination at this time. We will provide further instructions if and when the FDA and WHO expand their lists of authorized vaccines.

Students attending on-campus classes may request an exemption from the vaccination requirement for medical or religious reasons only. Request for: Medical Exemptions or Religious Exemptions forms.

Any students whose course registration is limited to correspondence courses, online classes and/or online programs, or any other courses that do not require meeting physically on campus for any reason or at any time will be excluded from submitting proof of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Exemptions are not allowed for those students residing in on-campus housing.

No, you will not be able to register for classes prior to vaccination unless you have an exemption on file or you are on-line only.

At Xavier University, the teaching modality for Fall 2021 will primarily be in-person instruction.  A fully-remote virtual option will only be available for those enrolled in our degree-granting online programs.

Vaccination data will be used to prevent and respond to the presence of COVID-19 on campus and to comply with federal, local and University public health guidelines. The information will be maintained in accordance with all applicable laws and public health regulations.

No, not if you receive your vaccination in the United States. The US federal government is providing the COVID-19 vaccination free of charge, regardless of immigration or health insurance status. 

Yes.

I lost my vaccine card.

Contact the site where you received your vaccine.  They may be able to provide you with proof of vaccination. You can also contact your state’s health department.  Some states have registries that include adult vaccines.  Proof of vaccine is required.

I have two vaccine cards.

If you received separate vaccine cards for each dose of a multi-dose vaccine (e.g., Pfizer, Moderna), please upload a photo or scanned copy of the front of each card.

Yes. If you only received the first dose of a multi-dose vaccine (e.g. Pfizer or Moderna), please wait until after you have received the final dose to complete this process.

After you complete the process, it will take our team about five business days to review your information. If there are any issues with your proof of vaccination, we will contact you by email or phone.

Yes, as long as you have been released from isolation, are no longer symptomatic and have been medically cleared by a doctor after having COVID-19, you are able to get vaccinated. You do not have to wait until 90 days after your diagnosis. As long as you are not actively sick, you are able to get the vaccine.

Yes, everyone is expected to continue to follow all campus health and safety protocols, including required surveillance testing, wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, and completing your daily health check.

If you have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks, do not have any symptoms and are identified as exposed to COVID-19 or a close contact of a positive case, per the latest CDC guidance, you do not need to quarantine. However you are expected to follow the same health and safety guidelines, even if you have been vaccinated. Additionally, if you have been vaccinated and test positive for COVID-19, you still need to isolate. It is not yet understood if the vaccine can prevent or reduce transmission of COVID-19, so to reduce further spread it is important to continue isolation protocols if you have tested positive.

If you are fully vaccinated and experience symptoms, you will be sent for COVID-19 testing and, depending on your test results, will be treated accordingly.

The COVID-19 vaccine series should routinely be administered alone, with a minimum interval of 14 days before or after administration of any other vaccine.

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. If it has been less than two weeks since your last shot or if you still need to get your second dose, you are not fully protected. The date of your final dose of vaccine is Vaccinated Day 0, and you are considered fully protected starting on Day 15.