COVID-19
Many Tufts community members continue to have questions about COVID-19 and related university policies. We’re here to help. Together, we continue to make decisions and take steps focused on keeping ourselves and our communities as safe and healthy as possible.
Prevention
Vaccination
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Students, faculty, and staff who provide patient-facing health care must provide documentation of a COVID-19 primary series and a booster or obtain a religious or medical accommodation.
- Tufts strongly recommends that all faculty, staff, students, vendors, and affiliates remain up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.
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Review the university's complete COVID-19 vaccination policies and requirements.
Masking
Tufts strongly recommends wearing KN95 masks indoors as an effective strategy to prevent transmission of illness.
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Masking continues to be required in all health care settings, including designated areas of the School of Dental Medicine and School of Medicine.
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Free masks are available on campus.
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Additional information on the use of masks can be found on the CDC’s website.
Upcoming Vaccination Clinics
Tufts periodically offers vaccination clinics for influenza and COVID-19 booster shots. Details can be found here when clinics are scheduled.
Exposure
See CDC guidance for what to do if you are exposed to COVID-19. Seek medical advice at any time should you become symptomatic and follow the Isolation Guidelines below if you test positive.
Illness
Stay home if you are experiencing symptoms. Use the following guidance to seek symptomatic evaluation and testing.
Faculty and Staff
If you don't have a PCP, speak with a clinician at Tufts Occupational Health Services (OHS) on the Boston Health Sciences, Grafton, or Medford/Somerville campuses by calling 617-627-6500 or emailing occupationalhealth@tufts.edu.
Students
Contact the health center on your campus to schedule an appointment for symptom evaluation and/or symptomatic testing. If you are a visiting student and require a COVID-19 symptom evaluation or test, please visit your primary care physician or an urgent care clinic.
Select your campus:
Student Health Service
124 Professors Row, Medford
Phone: 617-627-3350
On-call service is available 24/7
Center for Collegiate Wellness at Tufts Medical Center
Phone: 617-636-6006
If the Center is closed, visit your PCP or local urgent care clinic.
Health Service
200 Westboro Road, Ground Floor, Room 013, Grafton
508-887-4300
If the office is closed, visit your PCP or local urgent care clinic.
If You Test Positive
Follow the Isolation Guidelines below. You are responsible for notifying your close contacts and your supervisor or course instructors.
Supervisors should follow existing sick time and/or extended sick leave policies for employees who test positive for COVID-19.
Report Your Positive Test
If you receive a positive test result from your primary care physician, home rapid antigen test, or another entity outside of a Tufts testing site, please let us know.
COVID-19 VACCINE FAQs
Patient-facing faculty and staff, as defined above, who do not provide a record of having received a COVID-19 primary series and a booster (or if previously unvaccinated, one bivalent dose) or obtained a religious or medical accommodation, will not be allowed to work in-person on campus. Managers will work with Human Resources and those not in compliance to determine if other work arrangements are possible, as identified in the Flexible Work Options Policy. However, if the job function requires the employee to work on-site, further action for non-compliance will be taken. This may include unpaid leave, suspension or other discipline, up to and including termination.
If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, you can contact Student Health Service, Occupational Health Services, or your PCP.
If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1. If you have symptoms that need evaluation during non-office hours and do not have other options, you should go to the nearest emergency room.
Additional Resources
Local Data Sources
We monitor multiple data sources to assess broad community trends and inform the university's COVID-19 management approach. These are some of those sources:
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Wastewater Data from Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA)