Dear Colleagues,
Welcome, everyone, whether you are returning or new, in-person or virtual. It is great to see the campus coming to life again.
Over the summer, we closely monitored the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants. The University has maintained regular communication throughout, making every effort to keep us all up-to-date. While we must remain very vigilant with respect to all safety measures, especially with the fourth wave upon us, we are in a better place than in early 2021. We have achieved this because of everyone’s efforts to help reverse the trend, safeguard our hospitals and protect lives. My very sincere thanks to all of you for leading by example as members of this community.
As we head into September, we are resuming many in-person activities, based on our priorities and local operational needs. This represents an important milestone. We can look more positively toward the new semester, new opportunities and, yes, new challenges, too, but with a certain optimism that has been missing for months. I have been on campus several times over the last few weeks, and that optimism is palpable, when I cross paths with incoming students and staff at the McIntyre and our surrounding buildings, at our Sherbrooke Street locations and on main campus. I will soon visit our Campus Outaouais, if the public health situation permits, where I know the same positivity prevails, as well.
We’ve achieved amazing things in the last year and a half, despite the pandemic. And so, I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone – students, academics, staff – to remember and take pride in all you overcame, how you innovated and all that you accomplished. We are celebrating McGill’s Bicentennial this year, and if ever there was a historic moment that needed to be recorded, this is it, together with the luminaries – all of you – who are central to the successes of this period.
The start of the Fall semester is also an opportunity to remind everyone of the critical importance of vaccination. The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is one of the great scientific achievements of our time. We expect all members of the FMHS community to be vaccinated in order to ensure we all can fully participate in university life. If you have yet to be vaccinated, now is the time to do so. A walk-in clinic will be held on Friday, September 3, 2021 from 13:00-19:00 at Redpath Hall, on the Downtown Campus.
For the most up-to-date information on McGill operations, safety measures, travel exemptions, etc., please visit the University’s COVID-19 site here.
So, once again, welcome everyone, virtually or in-person. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to our education, research and health care missions. I wish you an excellent start to the new academic year.
Dr. David Eidelman
Vice-Principal (Health Affairs)
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences