Booster policies, clinics, and expanded COVID-19 testing among UMS safety strategies.
UMS testing partner is extending capacity of its mobile lab at UMaine to support state testing efforts in Augusta and Westbrook.
Orono, Maine — The University of Maine System has verified the vaccination status of more than 94% of the 21,460 students, faculty, and staff expected to be part of the in-person population for the spring semester beginning Jan. 18. Among the 5,170 students moving into residence halls this week at System universities, the vaccination rate exceeds 97%.
More than 5,200 booster shots also have been uploaded to the System portal for verification, with hundreds of additional shots being reported daily. The System’s Together for Maine daily updates that are shared with the media and posted to the website resume Jan. 18.
“We are ready to welcome our students back to university communities that are among the safest places in Maine to live, learn, and work,” said Chancellor Malloy. “We are wearing our masks, getting our shots, and staying committed to the public safety and personal health practices that have helped keep us safe and together since the start of the pandemic.”
Return and Asymptomatic Testing
A critical component of the health, safety and well-being of the university communities during the coronavirus pandemic this past year has been campus-based Shield T3 testing for students, faculty and staff, which can detect all the known variants of COVID-19, including Delta and Omicron. Returning residential students and unvaccinated in-person learners will test as part the plan to welcome students back to campuses.
“At UMaine, our priority is safely delivering the in-person learning our students expect from the state’s flagship and public research university,” said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, President of the University of Maine and its regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias. “We have been following the science and refining our practices to respond to changes in the pandemic and to meet individualized COVID challenges impacting our students and employees.
“Our faculty and staff have been working very hard over the winter break to make sure we are ready to welcome Black Bears and Clippers back to our campuses and classrooms for the planned start of the spring semester.”
Students have been urged to get tested before returning for the start of the semester and will need to limit activity until the results of campus-based return testing are known. UMaine residence hall students will have a self-observed COVID-19 test waiting for them in their rooms upon arrival on campus.
The saliva-based PCR testing capability was introduced a year ago (January 2021) as part of the University of Maine System Together for Maine initiative. The UMS agreement with Shield T3 Health included a mobile testing laboratory delivered to UMaine for Shield T3 to process test results for all UMS universities on-site and eliminate the need to ship collected samples to out-of-state laboratories.
Since July 2020, UMS has administered more than 214,000 tests, which have detected 1,290 cases of COVID-19.
Booster Required for Testing Exemption Feb 1
Testing for students is expected to increase after Feb. 1, when all students will be required to take a campus-based COVID test weekly until they receive a booster shot and upload their updated vaccination records into the UMS PointnClick portal. A booster is now also required for students to be exempt from quarantine practices if they come into close contact with someone with COVID-19.
UMS is in negotiations with its bargaining units for similar requirements for represented employees.
The University of Maine System is encouraging every student and employee who is eligible for a booster to get a shot and verify their status in the PointandClick portal. Campus-based clinics are being offered and community members are regularly updated on opportunities to receive a vaccination from local providers.
For the month of January, the System is also prohibiting food and drink at meetings, events, and gatherings attended primarily by employees to minimize unmasked time indoors. Please see additional information and guidance at Together.Maine.edu.
Shield T3 Extending Capacity of Mobile Lab at UMaine
Late last fall at UMaine, T3 campus testing capabilities expanded to include both asymptomatic testing at a campus test site and self-administered symptomatic testing. All test results are available in about 12 hours, thanks to the Orono-based Shield T3 mobile lab.
The Shield T3 capabilities also are benefitting other areas of Maine.
As noted in a Jan. 7 news release from the Governor’s Office, the drive-thru saliva-based PCR testing is now offered at the Augusta Armory and Westbrook Fire and Rescue under Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ existing partnership with Shield T3 Health. Test samples from the Armory are processed by the UMaine-based mobile laboratory in Orono.
Photo 1: Shield T3 Testing Lab at UMaine
Photo 2: PCR Testing at UMaine
Photo 3: In-person, lecture hall learning at UMaine
About the University of Maine System
Established in 1968, the University of Maine System (UMS) unites seven Maine’s distinctive public universities, comprising 10 campuses and numerous centers, in the common purpose of providing quality higher education while delivering on its traditional tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service.
In 2020 UMS became the first and only statewide enterprise of public higher education in the country to transition to a unified accreditation for the system. Much different than a merger or consolidation, unified accreditation is a new operating model for the University of Maine System that removes the primary barrier to inter-institutional collaboration.
A comprehensive public institution of higher education, UMS serves more than 30,000 students annually and is supported by the efforts of more than 2,000 full-time and part-time faculty, more than 3,000 regular full-time and part-time staff, and a complement of part-time temporary (adjunct) faculty.
Reaching more than 500,000 people annually through educational and cultural offerings, the University of Maine System also benefits from more than two-thirds of its alumni population residing within the state; more than 123,000 individuals.
The System consists of seven main campuses: The University of Maine (UMaine), including its regional campus the University of Maine at Machias (UMM); the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA); the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF); the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI); and the University of Southern Maine (USM). The System also includes a UMA campus in Bangor, USM campuses in Gorham and Lewiston-Auburn, the University of Maine School of Law, and the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center.
Please follow these links to the UMS Logo, UMS and individual university style guides and an image and biographical information for Chancellor Malloy.