Our Progress on Vaccines

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2021) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto provided UK employees with more information on vaccinations yesterday. See the email below. 

Dear Campus Community,

Today, because of you, we are vaccinating more than 2,000 people a day. A testament to the power of working together, teams from across campus (health care, athletics, emergency operations, health corps, public relations and marketing, among many others) as well as hundreds of volunteer students, faculty and staff from our health care colleges have joined forces to help our community meet this challenge. Now, we are preparing our next steps and, very shortly, that will involve you:

• In accordance with state guidance, we anticipate in the coming weeks scheduling people on campus and in the community who fall into phase 1c of the vaccination process – those classified as essential workers for businesses and institutions like ours. 
• That means we will begin vaccinating in earnest all campus employees. You are essential.
• To expedite that process, we ask our employees – who have not yet registered – to go to ukvaccine.org to register if they would like to receive a vaccine.
• Registering gets you in the queue, so that when we start to send out invites to schedule, you will be on the list.
• If you already have registered, you don’t need to do so again.
• If you are due – or will be soon – for your booster shot, go to ukvaccine.org to submit a request for a booster shot by selecting that option on the request screener.
• As always, if you have questions, please email vaccine@uky.edu or call our customer service center at 859-218-0111.

This next phase of the process should remind us all, I hope, of what this institution has done – and is doing – to meet a moment of profound crisis and change.

Vaccines bring with them the promise and potential of lives saved and extended. They offer a glimpse into a future that we hope is one step closer to normal – sooner, rather than later. In fact, we will continue to play an important role, partnering with the state and Fayette County on helping ensure access to vaccines among people in traditionally underserved populations.

The logistical lift to vaccinate a community and country is incredible. Supplies take time to move. Scheduling multiple doses of vaccines, ensuring volunteers are in place and keeping a large clinic operating efficiently and effectively is not an easy process, nor will it be without its inevitable bumps in the road.

But we will get there. Let us renew our pledge as partners and as a community to do that together.

That is who we are – the University of, for and with Kentucky.

Eli Capilouto