Chancellor's Update 1-13-21

The Latest on Vaccines

January 13, 2021

Dear U of A Employees:

A lot of questions are coming in about the COVID-19 vaccine, so I wanted to give you a quick update on what we know as of right now. First, U of A faculty, staff and graduate assistants who are required to physically report to campus — most of our employees — are eligible for the vaccine in accordance with Phase 1-B (as determined by state guidelines). Letters confirming your affiliation with the university will be emailed to you Thursday. If you have questions concerning your status as a remote or onsite employee, you will need to direct those to your immediate supervisor or HR representative. Many of us are not entirely one or the other, so a case-by-case determination may need to be made.

The U of A is currently planning a large-scale vaccination clinic at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Details are still being ironed out, and we anticipate there will be other future dates available once we pilot the initial clinic. Coordination is underway with Collier Drug Stores to conduct this event, including the creation of a link exclusive to the U of A community to make appointments. They’ve asked that we do not call or email them to request an appointment at this time, unless you meet the Phase 1-A criteria. We will provide you with this link as soon as it becomes available. For this and other vaccination updates, please see the vaccine portion of the campus spring guide. The latest news and information will be updated there and shared through news.uark.edu as well as other platforms.

We are also planning a COVID-19 panel discussion for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. We anticipate this discussion will touch on the latest news related to vaccines, other updates for this semester as well as future planning, especially as we look ahead to summer and fall. Again, we will provide more information, including a link to access the panel and a way to ask questions, closer to the date.

Obviously, with a campus of our size there are a lot of moving parts and considerations, so we ask for your continued patience. We will keep you up to date on the latest news and details as they emerge. But rest assured, we are trying to get your questions answered — and everyone vaccinated who wishes to be — as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Joe Steinmetz, Ph.D.
Chancellor