COVID-19 Vaccine Information
In order to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for all University community members, we must do our part by following the best practices for responding to COVID. This means, above all, ensuring our University community members are vaccinated. As a reminder, there is widespread availability of vaccinations without an appointment in our area.
Review information regarding booster eligibility >
- According to CDC guidelines, faculty and staff are eligible for boosters.
- Student employees and on-campus residents are eligible.
- Students who have the following underlying conditions are also eligible.
Please note: Vaccinations are strongly encouraged for faculty, staff and students.
Upcoming Vaccine Dates on Campus
In a continued effort to keep our campus and community safe, the University of Memphis
is partnering with Baptist Medical Group (BMG) to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on our
campus. BMG will provide the FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
Pre-registration is required. If you have already scheduled a second appointment with BMG, you do not need to register.
- On-Campus Vaccinations:
- Thursday, February 17 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center first floor - Register >
- Thursday, February 24 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center first floor - Register >
In aneffort to keep our campus and community safe, the University of Memphis has partnered with Baptist Medical Group (BMG) to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on our campus. BMG provides the FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
- Thursday, February 10 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center Lobby
- Thursday, February 3 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center Lobby
- Thursday, January 27 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center Lobby
- Thursday, January 20 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | University Center Lobby
- Thursday, December 9, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, December 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, November 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, November 4, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, October 28, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, October 7, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Centennial Place
- Thursday, September 30, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, September 23, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, September 16, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, September 9, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, September 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, August 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, August 19, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University Center Lobby
- Thursday, August 12, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Rose Theatre Lobby
- Thursday, July 22, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Rose Theatre Lobby
- Youth Vaccinations: July 2, 3-5 p.m. at Campus School
- Thursday, June 24, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Rose Theatre Lobby
- Youth Vaccinations: June 11, noon to 3 p.m. at Campus School
- Thursday, June 3, 9 am - 4 pm in the Rose Theatre Lobby
- Thursday, May 13, from 9 am - 4 pm in the Rose Theatre Lobby
- Thursday, April 22, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Rose Theatre Lobby
- Shuttles to Pipkin Vaccination Site, Monday-Friday, April 14 through May 7
COVID-19 vaccination will help limit your chances of getting COVID-19.
All COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. have been shown to be safe and effective
at preventing COVID-19. Experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine also helps
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.
- Learn more about the different COVID-19 vaccines (CDC) >
- Learn more about People at Increased Risk (CDC) >
Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more.
After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you may be able to start doing some things
that you stopped doing because of the pandemic. People are considered fully vaccinated
two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,
or two weeks after a single-dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until
you are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection.
COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to
know how COVID-19 will affect you. If you get sick, you could spread the disease to
friends, family and others around you. Clinical trials for all vaccines must first
show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved
for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19
vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine before it is used
under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Contracting COVID-19
may offer some protection, known as natural immunity. Current evidence suggests that
reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the months after initial
infection but may increase with time. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19
far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect
you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience
sickness. Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts
of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep
the public informed as new evidence becomes available.
COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic.
Wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from others help reduce your chance of being
exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough.
Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus
if you are infected. Evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely
to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially
less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation
is ongoing. Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As
experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus
that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities
using the latest science.
Source: CDC
Myth: It was rushed and isn't safe.
Fact: COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
Researchers took no safety shortcuts. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed
as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure
the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top
priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated. Large studies show the vaccine
is safe.
Myth: It can give you COVID-19.
Fact: None of the COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick with COVID-19.
None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19
vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.
Myth: It causes severe side effects.
Fact: For most, the vaccine causes mild side effects that resolve in a few days. (View "Possible Side Effects of Vaccine" below.)
Myth: It makes women infertile.
Fact: There is no evidence that the vaccine causes infertility.
Myth: It changes your DNA.
Fact: It's impossible for the vaccine to change your DNA.
Myth: It contains egg protein.
Fact: It doesn't have egg proteins and can be given to people with egg allergies.
Source: Sanford Health
We all play a role in bringing Tigers Back Together! You may find yourself in a position to help dispel myths and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. When talking to your friends and family, it is important to take steps to avoid being judgmental, to understand the root cause of their concerns, and to get permission to share information with them.
Step 1: Get the first dose
In order to be as effective as possible, you will need to take 2 doses of the vaccine.*
Step 2: The vaccine communicates
COVID-19 vaccines do not contain the virus and cannot cause infection or COVID-19. They work by giving your body the recipe to make the protein that is on the outside of the coronavirus. When your body sees that protein, it will make protective antibodies to it. Later, if the body sees the real virus, it will remember seeing that protein and destroy the virus before it has a chance to make you sick.
Step 3: Don't skip your second dose*
The vaccines are very effective only after the second dose. In studies, one vaccine was 95% effective seven days after the second dose. This means you must get the second dose to be protected.
Step 4: Better Protection
Even after you get both doses, continue to be careful. Wash your hands, cover your face, avoid crowds and avoid being around people who are sick.
*number of doses may vary depending on which vaccine you get
- Understanding how COVID-19 vaccines work (CDC) >
- One page graphic about how mRNA vaccines work (CDC) >
- Learn more about how mRNA (Moderna and Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccines work (video by Mayo Clinic) >
- Learn how adenovirus vaccines (Jansen) COVID-19 vaccines work (video by Mayo Clinic) >
- Learn more about currently available COVID-19 vaccines (PDF) >
Vaccine supply and distribution continue to increase. That means more people have been or are in the process of getting vaccinated. Many are wondering what changes after they're fully vaccinated - what should they do and not do?
The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, which is good for preventing disease and severe illness. However, it remains unclear if those vaccinated can transmit the disease to those who are not vaccinated. In addition, we are still learning how effective the vaccine is against variants of the virus. It's important to keep up with the preventive measures we have all been practicing during the pandemic. Getting vaccinated doesn’t yet mean a return to pre-pandemic ways.
The resources below provide valuable resources about COVID-19 vaccination at the local, state, and national levels.