Frequently Asked Questions

For students electing to receive a single-dose vaccination (Johnson & Johnson), the vaccination must be administered at least two weeks prior to the onset of the Fall semester or moving into campus housing. If receiving a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), the second dose of vaccination must be completed by August 18, 2021 or two weeks prior moving into on campus housing.

For employees electing to receive a single-dose vaccination (Johnson & Johnson), the vaccination must be administered at least two weeks prior to June 28, 2021. If receiving a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), the second dose of vaccination must be completed two weeks prior to June 28, 2021.

NJIT has expanded the Medicat Health Services Patient Portal system, currently used by students, for use by employees. Students and employees are encouraged, once you have received your full vaccination, to provide vaccination information by completing the following steps:

Students and employees should upload a copy of their vaccination card into Medicat, a secure and HIPAA-compliant system by:

• Step 1: Enter vaccine administration dates:
• Go to NJIT.Medicatconnect.com
• Click on the ‘Immunizations’ tab on top bar of the home page
• Choose either the FDA Authorized or WHO Authorized category
• From the drop-down menu, choose the correct manufacturer (e.g. Moderna, Pfizer)
• Enter the dates of vaccination and click submit

Step 2: Upload your vaccination record 

• Take a picture of the vaccination card and save to a file
• Click the ‘Upload’ button at bottom of page
• Click on the drop-down menu next to the blank box and choose ‘Covid Vaccine Record’
• Click on ‘Select File’
• Upload the vaccination card picture or a PDF file of the card

Once the above steps are completed, campus health services will verify the submission.

Faculty whose duties do not require them to be on campus for any reason will not be required to be vaccinated. However, we strongly encourage all members of our community to get vaccinated, regardless of their teaching modality.

No, students attending only online and not coming to campus for any reason will not be required to be vaccinated. However, we strongly encourage all members of our community to get vaccinated, regardless of their learning modality.

Yes, students and faculty who teach in or attend an online program and will not come to campus will be required to attest to the updated health pledge when accessing NJIT computing resources, stating that they will not come to campus.

Yes, students with an approved medical or religious exemption will be permitted to live in on-campus housing. The following will be required for these individuals:

• Students will be required to sign a disclaimer prior to moving into the residence halls stating that they understand the risks and additional restrictions required to allow living on campus.
• Students with a vaccine exemption will be housed as a cohort, per CDC guidelines, separate from the remainder of the residential student population.
• COVID-19 testing will be required a minimum of two times per week.
• Face coverings will be required at all times when outside the individual residence hall room, unless eating or drinking.

Students, faculty and staff with an approved religious or medical exception from the vaccination mandate will be required to:

• Sign a disclaimer stating that they understand the risks and additional restrictions required
• Submit to COVID-19 testing a minimum of two times per week
• Wear face coverings at all times when on campus, unless eating or drinking

• NJIT will accept all vaccines authorized by either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organization (WHO), based on CDC guidance, with appropriate documentation of full vaccination. The University has the exclusive right to determine the appropriateness of the documentation.
• NJIT will not accept vaccines that are not authorized by the FDA or WHO.
• NJIT will assist students and staff who have not received an accepted vaccine to get vaccinated through the following options:
  • Vaccination clinic on August 27th in the Tennis Center from 10am – 2pm. 
  • St. Michaels Primary and Specialty Care Clinic every Thursday morning.
  • Through our partnerships with University Hospital, Essex County, and other sources. 
  • Please email healthservices@njit.edu if you will require assistance with obtaining vaccination.
• We recognize that the ability to access vaccination in some areas of the world is a challenge. In these extenuating circumstances, each case will be reviewed on an individual basis for consideration of an extension to the vaccination deadline requirement with additional restrictions. 

Based on CDC guidance, in some circumstances people who received a COVID-19 vaccine not currently authorized in the United States will be required to be revaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine:

• People who completed or partially completed a COVID-19 vaccine series with a vaccine that is not authorized by the FDA or not authorized for emergency use by the WHO will be required to be revaccinated with a FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine series.
• People who are partially vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine series authorized for emergency use by the WHO will be required to be revaccinated with a FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine series.
• The minimum interval between the last dose of a non-FDA authorized vaccine and an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine is 28 days.
• People who completed a COVID-19 vaccination series with a vaccine that has been authorized for emergency use by the WHO do not need any additional doses with an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine.

NJIT intends to require all contract employees and employees of contractors that are immersed within our community to be vaccinated. Examples of these include IT support, dining services, and mail services. The final determination of this requirement is dependent on the outcome of discussions with these contractors.

We encourage those who may have questions about COVID vaccines to seek answers from reliable sources.

• To learn more about the vaccine approval process, click here or here.
• For information on COVID vaccine safety, watch this video from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
• To learn more about the protective benefits and safety of mRNA COVID vaccines, click here.
• For an explanation of emergency use authorization for vaccines, watch this video produced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• For a discussion of vaccine myths and facts, click here.
• And for information about COVID vaccines and pregnancy, you can read more here.

• Those with valid medical reasons precluding vaccination, as well as those with established and sincerely held religious beliefs that preclude receipt of a vaccination, may request an exemption.
• Such requests must be completed by June 28, 2021, for employees and by two weeks prior to their return to campus for students.
• Student requests for exemption based upon religious beliefs should be submitted via this form.
• Students requesting a medical exemption must submit a letter from their physician. The letter must be on official stationary for from the physician’s office, be signed and dated by the physician, state the period of time for which the student cannot receive the vaccine, and the medical contraindication to receiving the vaccine. 
• Employee requests for exemption based upon religious beliefs should be submitted via the Religious Exemption Form, and requests for medical exemptions should be submitted using the Accommodation Request Form. 
  • In addition, the employee’s health care provider will need to submit the Americans with Disabilities Accommodation (ADA) Interactive Questionnaire.
  • The employee should submit all completed forms to the Department of Human Resources for review at hraccommodations@njit.edu.

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

No, Visitors are not required to be vaccinated or to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test prior to coming to NJIT. However, if an event contains a large group or the host would like to be more restrictive than the University protocols, this can be brought to the Pandemic Recovery Steering Committee for discussion and determination of next steps.

If you are Fully Vaccinated:

Quarantine is NOT required for those fully vaccinated per current CDC guidance. The actions you are required to take if you are fully vaccinated include ;

• Get tested for COVID-19 within 3-5 days of exposure;
• Monitor yourself for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19 for symptoms of COVID-19;
• Wear a mask in public indoor settings at all times for 14-days or until a negative test is received;
• If a positive test result is received, isolate yourself from others, contact your healthcare provider,  and notify Health Services at covid.notify@njit.eduhealthservices@njit.edu for next steps. 

If you are Unvaccinated:

You must quarantine for 10 days regardless of whether you are experiencing symptoms or not and regardless of test result; 

• Monitor yourself for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19;
• Quarantine may be shortened to 7 days after receiving a negative test result (test must occur on day 5 or later);
• Monitor yourself for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19;
• If a positive test result is received, isolate yourself from others, contact your healthcare professional,  and notify Health Services at covid.notify@njit.eduhealthservices@njit.edu for next steps. 

Quarantine can end:

• after 10 days if you have been symptom free for the 10 days. Continue to monitor for symptoms and wear a mask through day 14; or
• after 7 days if you are symptom free and test negative on day 5, 6, or 7. The test must not be done prior to day 5. Continue to monitor for symptoms and wear a mask through day 14. 

Regardless of vaccination status, if you test positive for COVID-19, stay home and isolate yourself, which means, separate from others, stay in a specific “sick room” or area, and use a separate bathroom (if available); contact your healthcare provider and send notification to covid.notify@njit.edu and a representative from Campus Health Services will contact you to provide guidance.

Isolation can end 10 days after symptom onset or from the date of a positive test, if asymptomatic, only if you have been free of fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and with the improvement of all other symptoms. 

Testing will be mandatory for all employees and students who have been granted an exemption:

• Testing will occur on the NJIT campus in the MU2 Unit on Warren St. between 10 am and 2 pm as well as between 4 pm and 8 pm Monday through Thursday. 
• A rapid antigen will be used. This test requires the anterior nares to be swabbed. This does not require a nasopharyngeal sample.
• You will be able to collect the sample yourself while being observed by a healthcare technician.
• You will not be charged a fee for testing.

Those who have been identified as a close contact of someone on campus who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be offered the option of getting a COVID-19 test on campus. Details of how to get tested if this situation arises will be provided when you are contacted by an NNIT contact tracer. 

Testing will only be available for those employees and students who have an exemption to taking the vaccine. The CDCrecommends that fully vaccinated individuals may refrain from routine screening testing.

No. You will not need to have a confirmatory PCR test if the rapid antigen test is positive. You may choose to have a PCR test done if you believe the antigen test is false and you want to forego isolation. 

PCR testing will not be provided at NJIT. 

It will take some time for your body to build immunity to the Covid-19 virus following vaccination. The CDC defines fully vaccinated as:

• 2 weeks after receiving the second dose in a 2-dose series (Moderna, Pfizer)
• 2 weeks after receiving a single dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson)

For additional information visit the CDC website. 

• People who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 3 months and recovered do not have to quarantine or get tested again as long as they do not develop new symptoms.
• People who develop symptoms again within 3 months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified for their symptoms.

No. Individuals may test positive for several months following full recovery from the COVID virus. Therefore, testing is no longer required to determine return to campus.  

NJIT is adhering to the current travel guidelines as published by the State of New Jersey and the CDC.

No. Send notification to covid.notify@njit.edu. A representative from Campus Health Services or Dean of Students will contact you for next steps.  The Dean of Students Office will coordinate excused absences with the appropriate faculty members.

Faculty should direct the student to send notification to covid.notify@njit.edu. Faculty may be contacted for information to assist with contact tracing if necessary. 

If you are FULLY VACCINATED and you are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, you may come to class and follow the procedures outlined above (What should I do if I come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?)

 If you are UNVACCINATED, you must quarantine and follow the steps outlined above.