COVID-19 Fall Policies
Dear 快活app community members,
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and eagerly looking forward to the start of the 2021 fall term. To our incoming students and families鈥攚elcome! And welcome as well to the faculty and staff members newly back on campus. It is wonderful to begin to see the activity and vibrancy we love about the 快活app.
And while we celebrate a gradual return to a kind of 鈥渘ormal,鈥 I also want to recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, as the virus and its variants still pose significant risks to unvaccinated individuals and communities. The University鈥攊n consultation with our health care partner, National Jewish Health鈥攊s closely watching conditions on campus, locally, nationally and worldwide. We will remain agile as conditions evolve.
With these factors in mind, we have been working diligently on our COVID-19 policies and procedures for the fall 2021 term. The detailed protocols will be available on听听by July 30. Please look for a follow-up email later this week from our COVID-19 Coordinator, Sarah Watamura. We will also hold a virtual town hall regarding our COVID-19 policies in mid to late August. Details and invite to come. For now, I鈥檇 like to share some preliminary information.
Vaccines and Your Vaccination Record
- Right now, nearly 70% of 快活app community members have submitted their vaccination records or a vaccine exemption request. Thank you!听If you have not yet submitted your vaccination record, please remember it is due no later than the start of the fall term or September 1, whichever is earlier.听You are not cleared to be on campus until your record or approved vaccine exemption are verified in the MyHealth portal, available through your PioneerWeb homepage.
- All FDA-authorized vaccines are accepted. If you received a vaccine that is not yet FDA authorized but is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO), we will accept your vaccine record, but you will be assigned a more frequent COVID-19 testing schedule.
- If you are only partially vaccinated or vaccinated with a vaccine not authorized by the FDA听辞谤听listed by WHO, you are considered 鈥渦nvaccinated鈥 and will need to follow the same protocols as those who are unvaccinated.
- Once you submit your vaccination record or approved exemption request, you are assigned one of three 鈥渁ccess levels鈥 that designate your clearance for campus鈥攃leared for campus, cleared for high contact, and/or cleared for field placement/clinical work. Your assigned clearance activates your 快活app ID card and allows entry into 快活app buildings.
Testing and Symptom Monitoring
- Even if you are fully vaccinated, if you experience COVID-19 symptoms, please remain off-campus. If you are a residential student, socially distance and seek a COVID-19 test. For any residential student who tests positive, living quarters will be made available at the Hilltop Residence Hall during the isolation period.
- Everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, will be tested for COVID-19 twice during your first two weeks back on campus. Please log into PioneerWeb to see your individual testing schedule on the 鈥渃ampus access status鈥 page.
- We will conduct more frequent testing for COVID-19 until the third week of the term. The exact testing frequency during this time and through the term is tailored to your specific cohort group鈥檚 circumstances. Those details will be in the message from our COVID-19 Coordinator, Sarah Watamura, later this week. We aim to move to less frequent testing after the third week, depending on conditions and virus prevalence at that time.
Protocols for Unvaccinated Individuals
If your vaccine record is not accepted, if you are not fully vaccinated, or if your vaccine exemption is approved, you are required to wear a face covering always while indoors and outside when in groups of five or more (or at events which require it). You must also follow a more frequent COVID-19 testing schedule, socially distance where feasible and quarantine following international travel, travel to restricted states or after exposure to someone who tests positive for the virus.
Travel and Visitors
- International travel for university business or programs, including study abroad, will now require full vaccination with an FDA-authorized vaccine.
- Visitors are welcome on campus. Please follow our听visitor protocol, which includes completing a brief survey before visiting campus.
I am grateful鈥攖hrough widespread vaccination鈥攖hat we are able to enjoy less strict mitigation protocols. Of course, should conditions worsen and the need for more mitigation measures become necessary, we will provide updates and guidance. For more detailed information, be sure to visit du.edu/coronavirus after July 30, or email听covidcoordinator@du.edu. Be safe. Get vaccinated if it鈥檚 available to you. And enjoy the rest of summer.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Haefner