If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, body aches or loss of smell or taste) it is important that you immediately self-isolate and be tested for coronavirus.
If you have tested positive or have symptoms of COVID-19, please review this flowchart to determine next steps.
Asymptomatic COVID testing is available to students who require a negative test result for clinical rotation placements. These tests can be scheduled through MyChart. To complete scheduling, students need to ask their clinical coordinator for a password.
Rush employees, students and volunteers living in Illinois have access to symptomatic COVID testing at Rush. To determine your eligibility and schedule an appointment, use the Employee/Student/Volunteer COVID-19 Testing process in MyChart or the My Rush app.
Because providers are licensed by state, students, faculty and staff living outside Illinois should contact their primary care provider or clinic by phone or virtual visit to schedule a test.
If you test positive for novel coronavirus, follow instructions from Infection Control and contact your program director or manager immediately.
Please review this document to learn about what your COVID-19 test result means and the protocols to follow after getting tested.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some coronaviruses cause illnesses in people, but many of them do not. Most of the coronaviruses that make people sick usually only cause mild respiratory disease, similar to the common cold.
The new coronavirus that is causing alarm officially is named SARS-CoV-2, but it also is known as 2019 novel coronavirus. It is called novel because it hasn’t been seen in human beings before. It first was identified in Wuhan, a city in China, in December 2019. Because the virus is new, the investigation of it is evolving rapidly and being updated frequently.
The disease the virus causes is known as coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19 for short.
The symptoms are similar to the flu or pneumonia and can include a fever, cough, shortness of breath, body aches, sore throat or loss of smell. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus.
COVID-19 typically causes mild symptoms, and the vast majority of people will recover fully from it. Some people with the virus are asymptomatic; they do not develop any symptoms. However, in some cases these symptoms may develop into more serious problems, such as severe breathlessness.
The CDC recommends you call your doctor if you develop these symptoms or have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or recently have traveled from an area with widespread or ongoing community spread of COVID-19.
If you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms such as a fever, cough, shortness of breath, body aches, sore throat or loss of smell, it is important that you immediately self-isolate and do not come to campus or go out in public to prevent further infection.
Students, faculty and staff can take advantage of testing using the MyRush app.
Watch this video for instructions on how to schedule a test.
The best defense against spreading this coronavirus is wearing a mask while in public, whether you are sick or not, and social distancing from others while in public.
Equally important is HANDWASHING. Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer when soap is not available. Additionally:
If you have been in close contact with a person (less than 6 feet away for more than 15 minutes) who tested positive for COVID-19, you are required to quarantine for 14 days per the CDC guidelines.
In December 2020, the Chicago Department of Public Health provided guideance for two additional options for quarantine. If approved by your program director, Rush students may follow one of these options:
Quarantine for 10 days from last exposure if you are asymptomatic.
Quarantine for 7 days from last exposure if on days 5 or 6 you receive a negative COVID test, and you are asymptomatic.
For these options, you must self-monitor for the remaining days, up to day 14, for signs and symptoms of illness. If you become symptomatic, you should be tested for COVID.
As of March 2021, fully vaccinated individuals do not need to isolate after experiencing an exposure to someone with COVID-19. The updated CDC guidelines advise that individuals are considered fully vaccinated two or more weeks after the second dose of a 2-dose vaccine or the first of a single dose vaccine.
See the Wellness page for more information and resources.
Rush University Medical Center is carefully following the vaccine distribution guidelines provided by the Chicago Department of Public Health. As of January 25, 2021, Chicago is in phase 1B of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Students enrolled in Rush University programs that are typically in-person are eligible to receive the vaccine as part of phase 1A of the vaccine distribution plan.
Students enrolled in Rush University programs that are entirely remote, regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, are not eligible to receive the vaccine under the current guidelines. These students may access the vaccine in the future at RUMC when they qualify in a future tier. Please review the tier requirements on the CDPH website to determine eligibility.
Vaccine distribution is based on location, if you live outside of Illinois, please check your local department of public health website for vaccine information.
The RUMC testing team has been working diligently to distribute vaccine scheduling tickets to all eligible individuals. If you believe you are eligible for the vaccine and do not have a scheduling ticket, please email UnivCommandCtr@rush.edu. The team will check your eligibility and respond in the next 1-2 days with information for scheduling.