March 20, 2021

Good afternoon,

On March 5, we announced that a clinical provider in Baltimore agreed to support the College in vaccine administration. The clinical provider reserved an initial supply of vaccine for MICA with enough doses to vaccinate our frontline employees, and generously offered to include the remainder of MICA employees when its allocation increases and the state moves into Phases 2 and 3.  To date, approximately 100 employees of MICA have received their first shots from our clinical provider, and have appointments for their second shots coming up soon.

(FYI - due to overwhelming community demand, the provider asked not to be named by MICA in any public announcements.)

Governor Hogan announced last week that Maryland will enter Phase 2 of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan this coming week, and laid out an accelerated timeline that will make all adults eligible to receive vaccines by the end of April. Read more about the new vaccine timeline here.

With this news, we would like to prepare for a new round of vaccinations for our other employees so if/when our clinical provider has the allocation to accommodate them, we will be ready.  We are asking any employee who has not yet been vaccinated and wants to be, to complete the Vaccination Waitlist form linked at the end of this email. 

Appointments will be given based on availability from the provider and an employee's position on the College's Vaccination Tiers, which are based on state eligibility requirements. When appointments become available, employees on the waitlist will be given additional information by Human Resources or their supervisor. 

Please review the information below carefully, as employees will be asked to identify the tier they fall under in the Vaccination Waitlist Form. 

MICA Vaccination Tiers

TIER 1: State’s Phase 1B. Each educational facility shall prioritize their faculty, staff, and students by the following:

• Faculty or staff that provide essential in-person learning (i.e. instruction that cannot be delivered remotely); Individuals with essential functions related to facility/campus operations; Individuals that require residential or on-campus housing; or that meet an existing priority group in Phase 1A or 1B.

TIER 2: Individuals who during the spring semester, cannot perform their jobs 100% remotely, and have periodic in person interaction with other individuals on-campus and/or students.

TIER 3: State’s Phase 1C - Adults over 65 and older; Parkhurst and Broadway on-campus employees; Faculty and staff who would access campus to support students if vaccinated.

TIER 4: State’s Phase 2A - Adults age 60 and over (eligibility begins March 23).

TIER 5: State’s Phase 2B - Adults 16 - 64 at increased risk of severe COVID illness due to underlying conditions (eligibility begins March 30).

TIER 6: State’s Phase 2C - Adults age 55 and over (eligibility begins April 13).

TIER 7: State’s Phase 3 - General population including healthy adults age 16 and over (eligibility begins April 27); Emeriti Faculty and Staff.

Employees interested in being added to the waitlist can access the Vaccination Waitlist Form here. 

We are hopeful that our clinical provider will have enough allocation to accommodate MICA employees soon, but we cannot be certain if and when that will be.  In the meantime, we recommend that employees should try to sign up for their vaccination at other locations around the state.

Thank you for your continued hard work and vigilance in keeping our campus a healthy, safe, and supportive one.

Very best,
Doug Mann
Vice President for Operations & Finance and Chief Operations Officers