Health Topics

 

COVID-19 ▾

What should I do if I feel ill or have COVID-19? 

Anyone who has symptoms compatible with a COVID-19 or flu-like illness (fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other respiratory viruses) should not be on UMB’s campus and should seek guidance from their health care provider and/or follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance for people who are sick or caring for someone with COVID-19.

Individuals engaged in activities at clinical sites must refer to the clinical site guidance on return to work or educational activities provided below.   

UMB’s COVID-19 Report Form is no longer available. Individuals can use the CDC’s Isolation and Exposure Calculator for isolation guidance, and steps to prevent spreading COVID-19, and when to return to in-person activities.

Additional information can be found on CDC’s Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19 website or by talking to your health care provider. 

Clinical Site Guidance on Return to Work or Educational Activities  

Guidance on return to work or educational activities at clinical sites differs from guidance the CDC provides the public. Therefore, it is critical that UMB students, faculty, and staff follow the guidance of the clinical site.

Students, faculty, and staff working or participating in educational activities at University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) locations, to include the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), must follow the guidance found in the UMMS Guidelines for Management of COVID-19 Employee Exposure Policy.  

Students, faculty, and staff engaged in activities at other clinical sites must follow the return to work or educational activities guidance of the clinical site.

Students with questions on when they can return to in-person educational activities can contact Student Health at 667.214.2233.

Medical Care for COVID-19

Information on accessing medical care is provided below. The cost for medical care is the responsibility of the student or employee. This includes costs not covered by a student or employee’s health insurance plan.

According to the CDC, a person should seek Emergency Medical Attention if they have any of the following emergency warning signs for COVID 19:

  • Trouble breathing
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • New confusion
  • Inability to wake or stay awake
  • Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

If someone is showing any of these signs, CDC recommends calling 911 or calling ahead to your local emergency facility. Notify the operator that you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID-19.

Non-Emergency Medical Care

Students can contact UMB Student Health for non-emergency medical care for COVID-19.

Employees should speak to their healthcare provider for non-emergency medical care for COVID-19. Employees that do not have a healthcare provider, can consider using Campus Health, located on the UMB campus at 408 W. Lombard Street.

Meningococcal Vaccine ▾

Although not a requirement for entry at UMB, the meningococcal vaccine should be considered for students if they have not already received the vaccine. Meningococcal disease consists of a bacterial infection with Neisseria meningitides causing meningitis, septicemia, and bacteremia. N. meningitides spreads through exchange of respiratory secretions and/or saliva. There are five strains (A, B, C, W, and Y) that cause most meningococcal disease worldwide. Those at risk for meningococcal disease include youth or young adults, people living on college campuses, travelers to Sub-Saharan Africa and some immunocompromised individuals.

Symptoms of meningitis:

  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Photophobia (increased sensitivity to light)
  • Altered mental status (confusion)
  • Stiff neck

Symptoms of meningococcal septicemia (aka meningococcemia):

  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Vomiting
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Cold chills
  • Severe aches or pain in the muscles, joints, chest, or abdomen (belly)
  • Rapid breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • A purple rash can be seen in later stages

Typically, the meningococcal vaccine is given at ages 11-12 and then a booster is given at 15-16 years of age. Dedending on your risk factors, the meningococcal vaccine can be given up until age 55.

You can get your meningococcal vaccine at the UMaryland Immediate Care. The immunization is billed through your insurance company; please contact them for their coverage of the vaccine.

Source, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/about/index.html

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine ▾

The HPV virus is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Most sexually active individuals have or will contract a strain/multiple strains of HPV in their life time. There are more than 150 strains of HPV, 40 of which affect the genital area. Infection with HPV can lead to the development of oropharyngeal, vaginal, cervical, penile, and rectal cancers. HPV is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact. Transmission can occur with asymptomatic individuals through the process of viral shedding.

Symptoms of HPV are discrete if present at all. Some symptoms might be:

  • Genital warts/bumps
  • Genital itching

Cervical cancer pap smear screen for changes in the cervical tissue related to HPV. The frequency of screening cervical pap smears is determined by age and prior results history.

The HPV vaccine covers nine of the most common strains that affect the genital tract. Typically, the HPV vaccine series is given during the preteen and teenage years, but if you haven’t received all three doses yet and are under 27 years of age, please go to UM Campus Health to get the vaccine.

The immunization is billed through your insurance company; please contact them for their coverage of the vaccine.

Source, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/hcp/know-facts.html

 

Influenza Shot Clinic ▾

The Campus Health flu vaccine campaign will officially start Sept. 12, 2023.

Flu vaccinations can be scheduled online at www.medschool.umaryland.edu/flushot/. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Schedule Flu Shot.

Flu vaccine clinics will be held on Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and Thursdays, 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m.

Patients should come to 29 S. Paca St. to receive their scheduled flu vaccines.

We are vaccinating CURRENTLY ENROLLED students of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and employees (Faculty Physicians, Inc.; UMB; University of Maryland Medical Center; University of Maryland Medical System).