Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

As we face a rising level of concern about the COVID-19 situation, I want to call your attention to the important health and safety procedures that are available to us.  We are still on course for a full return to campus by Aug. 2 with the arrival of students in residence halls on Aug. 18 and fall classes beginning Aug. 23 - so it’s crucial that we remain vigilant.

While we continue to monitor our situation carefully, including the increasing cases in Houston attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant, which is currently causing 83% of the COVID infections in the United States, we ask that you keep these prevention strategies in mind:

• Vaccination is the leading prevention strategy to protect individuals from COVID-19 disease. Current COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States are safe and effective, widely accessible, and available at no cost.  For example, a new study shows that the Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective in preventing symptomatic infection with the Delta variant.  Please refer to the vaccine resource finder to confirm an appointment near you.  Consider being vaccinated if you have not already done so.
• The University continues to encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to wear a mask, to protect themselves from being infected by others, and to prevent infecting others should they have an asymptomatic infection.
• Although people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask according to CDC guidelines, you may choose to do so for an extra level of protection.

Let me remind you that free COVID-19 testing is still available on campus from Curative at the walk-up kiosk located in front of the UH Student Center South, Monday through Friday. The testing service is available to faculty, staff and students by appointment only.

The University has worked hard to keep itself as safe and secure as possible and we realize many of you may still have questions. Please refer to our COVID-19 website for additional information.

Thank you for your continued resilience, and we look forward to seeing you in person as we transition back to working and studying on campus.

Sincerely,