The following message was sent from President Ramsammy via email to all employees on Sept. 23. Please note this correction: mask usage is required indoors when on campus.
Colleagues,
As you know, SUNY and New York State have mandated that all students taking on-campus classes or accessing on-campus services this semester will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to continue coming to campus. The deadline for students to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and submit proof to Health Services is Thursday, Sept. 30.
Students have received several communications and reminders of this requirement, and nearly 90% have submitted proof of vaccination or a medical or religious exemption. But with just a week to go before the deadline, it is essential that we make sure the students we come in contact with are aware of New York State’s vaccination mandate and know how to take action to meet the requirements by Sept. 30.
Please take a moment to remind the students in your classes or those visiting your offices or service areas of the important information below:
Students who have not been vaccinated yet are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible and submit proof of receiving at least one dose to Health Services by Sept. 30. Those who have not submitted proof of receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 30 will be administratively withdrawn from on-campus classes without a refund, and will not be allowed on campus for the remainder of the semester.
If students cannot get vaccinated for religious or medical reasons, they must fill out a Request For Waiver From Immunization (PDF) and submit it to Health Services by Sept. 30.
Students who have already been vaccinated must submit proof of vaccination to Health Services via the Pooled Testing Exemption webpage by Sept. 30, and will receive a confirmation email when their proof of vaccination has been accepted.
The Rensselaer County Department of Health will offer COVID-19 vaccinations (Moderna, Pfizer and J&J) for students and employees during a visit from the county’s Vax Bus on Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The bus will be located near the Campus Center, and all members of our community are encouraged to take advantage of this service.
Vaccination site locations and more information on the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines can be found at www.suny.edu/knowyourvax. More information on the college’s COVID-19 policies can be found at www.hvcc.edu/covid19.
While there is currently no mandate in place concerning employee vaccination, I would also like to take a moment to encourage all faculty and staff to get vaccinated themselves. About 80% of the college’s employees have been vaccinated and have submitted proof to Health Services — and to those of you who are among that population, I sincerely thank you for doing your part to help keep our campus community safe and healthy. Keep up the excellent work.
If you have not been vaccinated, you are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help protect your own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of every member of our campus community. The college provides administrative leave time for COVID-19 vaccination. As you know, those who are not vaccinated are required to participate in daily health screening, mandatory weekly testing, and must maintain 6 feet of distance from others at all times while on campus. Per CDC guidance, everyone, vaccinated or unvaccinated, is required to wear a mask at all times (correction Sept. 24: when indoors) while on campus.
Thank you,
Roger Ramsammy, Ph.D.
Published: Fri, 24 Sep 2021 12:28:34 +0000 by d.kennedy1