Facilities, Office & Lab Requirements

To reach the high levels of vaccination needed to protect our community, Harvard is requiring COVID vaccination for all Harvard community members who will have an on-campus presence in the fall. 

We encourage students, staff, and faculty to utilize the vaccine options available to them through their local healthcare provider or pharmacy.  For those who prefer to be vaccinated on campus, HUHS holds COVID vaccine clinics on a weekly basis at HUHS (75 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge). Vaccine appointments are open to all students, staff, faculty, researchers, and HUHS patients and can be scheduled through the HUHS patient portal with your Harvard Key.  Additional information including instructions on how to schedule an appointment, dates and times for future vaccine clinics, and FAQs can be found on the HUHS vaccine webpage.

Community members are advised to complete their vaccination as soon as possible and required to submit verification of vaccination status (including if you are noting an exemption for religious or medical reasons) via the secure HUHS patient portal. Visit the University’s Verify Your Vaccine webpage to learn how to submit your verification.

As employees prepare for the upcoming academic year and the resumption of on-campus activities and services, Harvard Human Resources has provided additional FAQs and general guidance for the return to campus. As with other policies, for more localized guidance for specific Schools and Units employees should be in contact with their local leadership.

While the University has set August 2 as the starting point for a return to campus, each School and Unit will adopt different timelines and policies depending on their own considerations and needs. Visit the School & Program Information page for more details, and stay connected to your local leadership for updates.

All University affiliates who are authorized to be on campus are required to be tested at their assigned cadence. Testing requirements vary based on vaccination status and campus residency, and can be found Testing & Tracing page. For anyone who will be testing on campus for the first time, they can visit their Crimson Clear dashboard to learn how to be in touch with their testing coordinator and how they can obtain testing kits and instructions.

Testing requirements for the summer and fall can be found Testing & Tracing page.

University IT staff have been busy getting campus technology ready for your return, but you should allow some time after you arrive to get set up and make sure everything is working as it should. HUIT has prepared some tips and resources, including advice on what to do with the equipment you have been using at home and guidance on reconnecting your devices to campus Wi-Fi.

As more faculty, staff, and students return to campus, Harvard Transportation and Parking has rolled out several new options for members of the community with flexible work hours. Visit the Flexible Commuting to Campus page and read transportation FAQs for more details on getting back to campus.

While on campus remember to continue to take simple precautions to greatly reduce the risk and spread of COVID-19. The more diligent and careful we are now, the sooner we’ll be able to resume more in-person activities and welcome back more of our campus community. For more details on Harvard’s general prevention and protection practices, see Environmental Health and Safety’s Safety Awareness Training document.

Harvard will continue to require masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, until we can determine the level of COVID vaccination across our community. With confirmation of high vaccination levels, we expect to issue revised indoor mask-wearing policies. Outdoors, fully vaccinated persons are no longer required to use masks, regardless of distancing. For unvaccinated persons, outdoor use of masks is only required if they cannot maintain distance from others.

All community members, including those fully vaccinated are expected to follow our testing cadences. Review the policies and frequencies for unobserved self-administered testing.

Visit the Health & Wellbeing page for more resources on keeping Harvard healthy.