Jen Lucas, Executive Director of Human Resources, updates faculty and staff on testing requirements, vaccines and boosters, reporting vaccination information to HR, and notifying HR about contact with COVID-19 positive individuals.
Dear Colleagues,
As we continue to manage the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and the impact of the current Omicron variant, the health and safety of our entire campus community remains our highest priority.
I am writing today to provide some important COVID-19 updates for faculty and staff.
Update to Testing Requirement
Effective Monday, January 31, all Gettysburg College faculty and staff members who have not shared their vaccination information with HR—or whose vaccination status is no longer current—will be required to test on a weekly basis. For the purposes of the application of our employee testing policy, faculty and staff will be considered to be fully vaccinated only if they have received a booster upon being eligible and have submitted verification to the Human Resources Office. Employees are eligible for a booster six months after completing the Moderna vaccination, five months after receiving the Pfizer vaccination, or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Faculty and staff who do not share their updated vaccination information with HR by Tuesday, January 25, will be notified by email that they are required to test on campus the following week.
In addition to unvaccinated employees, other employees who are concerned about potential exposure to COVID-19, either on or off campus, also have access to our on-campus testing clinic. Employees will need to register with Mobile Health as a guest and may not test more than once in a given week.
Note: Mobile Health will be located at Plank Gym beginning January 17 until further notice. Hours of operation for the first four weeks of the semester are as follows.
Mondays: *
7 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Faculty and Staff Only
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Faculty, Staff, and Students
Tuesdays: *
7 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Faculty and Staff Only
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Faculty, Staff, and Students
Wednesdays: *
7 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Faculty and Staff Only
9 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Faculty, Staff, and Students
Thursdays:
1 p.m. – 6 p.m. | Faculty and Staff Only
*The center will be closed M, T, W from 12:00-12:45pm so the staff can have lunch.
Getting Your First Vaccine or Booster
I cannot overstate the importance of remaining fully vaccinated against COVID-19. People who are not fully vaccinated are most at risk for COVID-19 and the emerging variants, like the current highly transmissible Omicron variant. Information about local vaccination sites may be found on WellSpan’s website. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to schedule your COVID-19 booster shot as soon as possible.
Reporting Your Vaccination Information to HR
To be removed from our campus testing requirement, you must send an image of your vaccination card tovaccine@gettysburg.edu or present your card in person to the Human Resources Office located on the ground floor of Pennsylvania Hall. We encourage you to present your card to the HR Office at your earliest convenience.
Notification to HR if COVID-19 Positive or a Close Contact
If a faculty or staff member is confirmed to have COVID-19 or has been in close contact with someone who tests positive, they are required to inform the Human Resources Office as soon as possible. The College will maintain your privacy to the greatest extent possible. Employees who test positive must enter isolation and will not be permitted to return to on-site work until they have completed an isolation period that meetsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Following direction from the CDC, we will also notify any individuals in our community identified by those who test positive for COVID-19 as being a close contact.
Our changing guidelines respond to the increased transmission rates in the local community and around the country. We continue to emphasize the dynamic and responsive nature of our policies, which will be updated as we adapt to new or revised federal and state guidelines.
Please do your part to protect yourself and those around you by getting vaccinated and keeping your vaccination status current.
Thank you for helping us get the semester off to a good start!
Sincerely,
Jen Lucas
Executive Director of Human Resources