As we continue in partnership with the UA System to implement our phased approach to gradually unite on campus, UAB and UAB Medicine strive to be the safest campus in America and keep health and safety our top priority.

UAB students, faculty and staff,

As we continue in partnership with the UA System to implement our phased approach to gradually unite on campus, UAB and UAB Medicine strive to be the safest campus in America and keep health and safety our top priority. Among many other strategies, we are adopting sentinel testing as an additional layer to minimize risk and support a continued re-entry.

The sentinel testing system collects information useful for monitoring trends in diseases and pathogens. We plan to test between 2.5% to 5% of the on-campus population weekly to detect how COVID-19 may be circulating among our asymptomatic population. The test will be a self-administered swab of the nostril. Click here for additional information and frequently asked questions about sentinel testing.

This random sentinel COVID-19 testing of those who have returned to campus will begin the week of July 6. Those selected for testing will receive an email on the Sunday of the week they are to be tested, with instructions on how and where to get tested.

Submitting to sentinel testing is voluntary. Your choice to participate or not will in no way impact your employment or your status as a student. Nevertheless, we hope that you will participate and help us in the fight against this virus. Sentinel testing will supplement mandatory COVID-19 testing for returning students through the Testing for Alabama program announced on June 29. Additional testing strategies for employees are being explored.

Students, please continue to read the Greenmail e-newsletter every Wednesday for important announcements and details about reentry. Faculty and staff, please continue to read eReporter, and UAB Medicine employees also read ONE. For more information on UAB’s re-entry to campus, visit uab.edu/reentry.