College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Aug. 20 about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
This Week’s Updates:
Vaccinations are Strongly Encouraged
Penn State Health is seeing a large increase in COVID-19 infections in unvaccinated employees. We encourage those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so as soon as possible. Registration for COVID-19 vaccination can be found here.
Booster Shots for Vaccinated Students and Employees
Penn State Health will soon be announcing a plan for providing additional doses (booster shots) of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to moderately to severely immunocompromised people as the CDC is currently recommending around the eight-month mark from your initial vaccination. In the meantime, we are advising anyone who are eligible under CDC criteria to contact local pharmacies, some of which may be able to administer a third COVID vaccine dose at this time.
Compliance with Safety Policies
Penn State released its Guidance on Instructor, Researcher and Faculty Member Violations of Penn State’s Requirements and Expectations to Reduce the Risk of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Aug. 17 that clarifies the expectations for instructors, researchers and faculty members to adhere to Penn State’s requirements and expectations for reducing the risk of COVID-19. This document reviews the process for allegations of failure to abide by these expectations, describes sanctions that may be imposed and delineates the appeals process.
Testing for Unvaccinated Students and Employees
Testing for students who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 or have elected to not report their status has begun, and testing for employees is anticipated to start in September. Details on the testing program and the consequences for not complying can be found in the Penn State News.
Vendor Policy Update
The vendor policy for the College of Medicine was recently updated. Vendors must now be vaccinated, or have a negative COVID-19 test within the past 72 hours, prior to coming on campus. A complete description of the vendor/visitor policy can be found here.
Town Hall
Plans are underway to hold a town hall for College of Medicine faculty, staff and students in early September. More details to come.