COVID-19 Weekly Digest

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) is available this semester to students with financial need. HEERF III are financial aid grants to students that may be used for any component of a student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare. APPLY NOW!

Get a free COVID-19 PCR test at the University-Oxford Depot on campus by texting “2020” to 833-991-3009 OR clicking on this link: http://86borders.com/l/68415e8f. Testing is offered Monday through Friday, 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.

You can now order four more FREE, at-home rapid Covid-19 antigen tests from COVIDtests.gov. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 2 sets of 4 free at-⁠home tests. Enter a U.S. home address at COVIDtests.gov to create a free order for four tests. Households that already received a package of tests from the site are eligible to request a new one. If you need help placing an order for your at-⁠home tests, call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

Featured FAQ: When should I use a home test for COVID-19 and how do I report the results? Used properly, home COVID-19 test kits can detect infection early and prevent the spread to others. You should use a home test when you develop symptoms of COVID-19, or you are a close contact to an individual with COVID-19 and are testing on day five after exposure. Free test kits are available from covidtests.gov. See additional information from MSDH.

Effective March 2, face coverings are required only on transportation networks (mandated by the Transportation Security Administration) and in healthcare settings such as University Health Services and University Counseling Center, regardless of vaccination status.

Face coverings are optional in all other indoor spaces, including classrooms, laboratories, studios, residence halls, libraries, dining facilities, the Student Union, Campus Recreation facilities, retail spaces, offices, conference rooms or extracurricular activities held in indoor on-campus spaces.

Faculty and staff may continue to require face coverings for visits to their private offices.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) is available this semester to students with financial need. Apply now!

Get a free COVID-19 PCR test at the University-Oxford Depot on campus by texting “2020” to 833-991-3009 OR clicking on this link: University-Oxford Depot. Testing is offered Monday through Friday, 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.

Featured FAQ: Who can receive treatment for COVID-19 and where? According to MSDH, people who test positive for COVID-19 with mild to moderate symptoms who are at higher risk for developing more serious COVID-19 symptoms may be eligible for monoclonal antibody or oral antiviral treatment, depending on their health history and exposure to COVID-19, and how long they’ve had symptoms of COVID-19.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, contact your doctor or a healthcare provider about receiving treatment with monoclonal antibodies or find a pharmacy that can fill a prescription for oral antiviral medication.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) extended the face mask requirement for all transportation networks, including public transportation, through March 18, 2022. This requirement continues to apply locally to anyone who rides OUT buses. TSA’s initial face mask requirement went into effect on February 1, 2021, with an initial expiration date of May 11, 2021. It was first extended through September 13, 2021, and then to January 18, 2022. While this announcement extends the date of enforcement, all other aspects of the requirement remain unchanged, including exemptions and civil penalties. TSA also issued a statement on the face mask extension. Learn more about Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) guidance to the transit industry on the federal mask requirement for public transit at the FTA Transit Mask Up webpage.

During the Omicron surge, faculty, staff and students were encouraged to shift meetings to a virtual format whenever possible. Given the significant reduction in case counts from the beginning of the semester to now, there are no restrictions or shift-to-virtual guidance for group meetings or gatherings. (Please note that masks are still required for instructional spaces as outlined by Chancellor Boyce on Feb. 11.) As individuals host and attend face-to-face meetings, we continue to encourage everyone to support and respect those in our community who need to, or choose to, wear a face covering in non-required spaces. If you are planning an event or extracurricular activity, please consult this guidance for events and extracurricular activities.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) is available THIS semester to students with financial need, but it is going fast! Students — it’s worth applying to see if you are eligible. It’s easy, and you could receive up to $3,000. A 2021-22 FAFSA must be on file. If you or your family experienced a financial hardship lately and your FAFSA does NOT reflect it, reach out to Financial Aid immediately to see if you could still qualify. There is a re-evaluation process called “Professional Judgment.” Please note that international/undocumented students may be eligible without a FAFSA. Apply now!

Get a free COVID-19 PCR test at the University-Oxford Depot on campus by texting “2020” to 833-991-3009 OR clicking on this link: http://86borders.com/l/68415e8f. Testing is offered Monday through Friday, 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. The university’s COVID-19 website includes aggregate results from COVID-19 testing (PCR COVID-19 test) for students, faculty, and staff.

According to the CDC, you should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19. Getting sick with COVID-19 offers some protection from future illness with COVID-19, sometimes called “natural immunity.” The level of protection from natural immunity may vary, depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and the person’s age. No currently available test can reliably determine if a person is protected from infection.

All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine gives most people a high level of protection against COVID-19 even in people who have already been sick with COVID-19.

Emerging evidence shows that getting a COVID-19 vaccine after recovering from a COVID-19 infection provides added protection to your immune system. One study showed that among people who already had COVID-19, those who do not get vaccinated are more than twice as likely to contract COVID-19 again than those who get fully vaccinated after their recovery.

People who were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, or people who have a history of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults or children (MIS-A or MIS-C), may need to wait a while after recovering before they can get vaccinated. Talk to your doctor if you are unsure what treatments you received or if you have more questions about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Effective as of Feb. 14, 2022, the university requires face coverings only in instructional areas and healthcare settings, regardless of vaccination status. This includes classrooms and other academic spaces like laboratories, studios and testing centers as well as healthcare settings such as University Health Services.

Face coverings will not be required in other public spaces such as residence halls, libraries, dining facilities, the Student Union, Campus Recreation facilities, retail spaces, offices, conference rooms or extracurricular activities held in indoor on-campus spaces.

For additional details, read the message from Chancellor Glenn Boyce.

Limited funds remain to be awarded through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) for the Spring 2022 semester — students APPLY NOW for financial aid assistance related to COVID-19. University of Mississippi students should complete the application form (you must be a student to access this form). Visit this page for details about eligibility and requirements.

University departments and registered student organizations (RSOs) may arrange events, gatherings and extracurricular activities and are encouraged to consult these suggestions and recommendations when hosting events and activities on campus and off-campus:

Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) must submit their in-person events (all in-person meetings, programs, events and activities) through The ForUM and must comply with the University of Mississippi’s event registration policy https://union.olemiss.edu/about-event-registration/

For additional information, visit this page.

Get a free COVID-19 PCR testing at the University-Oxford Depot on campus by texting “2020” to 833-991-3009 OR clicking on this link: http://86borders.com/l/68415e8f. Testing is offered Monday through Friday, 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.

Featured FAQ: With the updated face covering requirement on campus as of Feb. 14, can I ask visitors to wear a mask while meeting in a private office? Yes, faculty and staff may require face coverings for visits to their private offices.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) is NOW OPEN for students for the Spring 2022 semester. To APPLY NOW for financial aid assistance related to COVID-19, University of Mississippi students should complete the application form (you must be a student to access this form). Visit this page for details about eligibility and requirements.

HEERF stands for the “Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund,” and it was authorized by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and signed into law on March 11, 2021. Along with universities across the country, the University of Mississippi has received this federal COVID-19 relief funding to address COVID-19 impacts including “student portions” which must go to students in the form of emergency financial aid grants and “institution portions” which can be used by institutions to alleviate financial hardships brought on by COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Education required a fixed amount of HEERF funds to be provided directly to students. Recognizing the great need among our students, to date the university has awarded $2M above the grant requirements to students and will use institutional portions for additional student awards for the Spring 2022 semester.

The student portion of the funds have been used for any component of a student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare.

At the University of Mississippi, the institutional portion has been used to respond to the coronavirus in support of campus safety and operations, address instructional and technology needs, replace lost revenues and provide more than $2M of additional emergency financial aid grants to students to date. Visit this page for quarterly expenditure reports of institutional and student HEERF funds.

So far, the university has given out approximately 15,000 awards totaling more than $32 million directly to students meeting eligibility requirements since spring 2020, but we’re not done yet! We are currently in the process of accepting applications and disbursing another $12 million from the current round of student and institutional HEERF III funding. The emergency financial aid grants to students do not typically exceed $3,000 per student.

Here’s a breakdown of all the phases of COVID-19 federal funding awarded to the University of Mississippi and University of Mississippi Medical Center:

Funding to the University of Mississippi:

Funding to the University of Mississippi:

Funding to the University of Mississippi:

For more information and FAQs, visit this page.

The following categories of students are eligible:

Students will be considered based on the following criteria:

What? FREE COVID-19 PCR testing

Who? For symptomatic or asymptomatic students, faculty and staff

Where? University-Oxford Depot on campus

When? Monday through Friday, 3-7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m.

How? To schedule your test: