November 19, 2021 Update: COVID-19
COVID Update for Employees: Holiday Travel, Vaccination Policy and Documentation, Booster Shots
Dear Colleagues,
Our Champlain community has done an extraordinary job navigating a historic health crisis. Thanks to our individual and collective efforts, our campus has continued to sustain low case counts and lower overall COVID transmission than the surrounding community. In particular, we want to recognize and thank the dedicated staff in Student Health Services and the Employee Health team who have served and supported our community through this prolonged crisis.
With the concerning increase in COVID-19 cases in Vermont, the landscape around us is changing. As we look to the holiday season, we want to provide a few COVID updates to help employees navigate this phase of the pandemic, including how we approach the upcoming holiday season, and additional information to support the health of our community. This email covers the following:
- Reminders and guidance for safe holiday gatherings & travel
- Follow-up on vaccination requirement for employees, including new COVID vaccination policy
- Preliminary details of new COVID vaccination documentation system
- Update on COVID booster shots
HOLIDAY GATHERINGS & TRAVEL
As a reminder, the College will be closed beginning Wednesday, November 24, and will reopen on Monday, November 29. We encourage employees and students to find meaningful ways to connect with family and friends during the Thanksgiving break. At the same time, we need to continue to work together to keep our community healthy and safe, particularly given the increase in COVID cases in Vermont and beyond. Large gatherings and holiday travel and activities entail risk for contracting COVID-19, the flu, and other illnesses, so it is important to follow basic health and safety precautions. The CDC has published some helpful tips on how to celebrate safely during the holiday season. Please note that residential students will be required to test for COVID-19 upon their return to campus after the Thanksgiving break.
NEW COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY
As a follow-up from the email sent by Dave Finney earlier this fall regarding the decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations for employees, the College has adopted a new Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Policy which provides more detail on the College’s requirements for COVID vaccination for employees. The policy is available on the People Center website. We encourage you to review the policy carefully.
VACCINATION DOCUMENTATION
Champlain is partnering with a company that specializes in managing organizational health records, to create a confidential, secure system for collecting and recording COVID-19 vaccination information. Once the system is activated, faculty and staff will be able to upload vaccination information, including information on booster shots. We are finalizing this process now and will share more information as well as instructions for submitting documentation in the weeks to come.
BOOSTER SHOTS
In addition to requiring employees to be fully vaccinated, we strongly encourage employees to get booster shots and we will likely require them in the future as state and federal guidance evolves.
In Vermont, boosters are available for all adults who are at least two months out from a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or six months out from a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The FDA and CDC have endorsed and authorized booster shots for Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J, including a mix and match strategy in which people fully immunized with one company’s vaccine can receive a different company’s vaccine for their booster shot. The Vermont Department of Health website has more information on booster shots here, including how and where to get a booster shot in Vermont.
For complete details on the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and how to schedule a vaccination appointment, please visit the Vermont Department of Health website. For questions about Champlain’s vaccination requirements, please contact the People Center at peoplecenter@champlain.edu or contact feedback@champlain.edu.
We appreciate your continued commitment to Champlain’s health and safety.
Sincerely,
Leslie Averill
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Danelle Berube
Vice President, Student Affairs & Emergency Management Coordinator
Sara Quintana
Acting Director of Human Resources
