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College of Medicine Pandemic Response Friday Round-Up – Week of Dec. 14-18

College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Dec. 18 about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

COVID-19 vaccine: Information on the COVID-19 vaccine was shared this week with College of Medicine employees and students. Please refer to the email from Dr. Black that was sent Friday morning. Key highlights of the message include:

  • Penn State Health will begin receiving initial doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week into next week. The Moderna vaccine was approved as well and should be coming to us shortly.
  • Employees and students will receive an email from Compass to opt in to receive the vaccine. Vaccination will not be required, but is strongly encouraged.
  • The vaccine will be distributed in phases starting with those who treat COVID-19 patients on the front lines as the first priority.
  • The goal is for everyone to be able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as large quantities are available.
  • A Penn State Health Town Hall was held this week focused on the vaccine and its distribution. In case you missed it, please visit the recording. You can also visit pennstatehealth.org/coronavirus/vaccine and the vaccine FAQ document for more information.
  • If you have any issues signing into Compass, please use your Penn State Health email address (ending in pennstatehealth.psu.edu) or contact the IT help desk 1-833-577-4357.

COVID mandatory return testing for all students: In an effort to continue to protect our faculty, staff and students as well as the community, we will be requiring all students (medical, physician assistant, nursing and nursing practitioner) to complete COVID-19 testing upon their return to educational activities. We have partnered with Vault Health to offer this testing with a mail-in saliva-based test. All students are being asked to log into the “Know Your Status” portal using their Penn State University credentials, to see their most recent test result and order a test to your local residence. The only exception is if a student has tested positive within the last 90 days. Results from Penn State testing will be displayed in the portal. You will receive a specific email from your educational program office with more details related to test date and quarantine. Please note it takes several days for your test kit to arrive so please plan accordingly.

COVID-19 cases on campus

The table below summarizes the number of COVID-19 cases among our College of Medicine faculty, staff and students for this past week:

College of Medicine statistics

Notes

  • Current employees/students represents the number who have shown symptoms this week.
  • Total employees/students represents the number who have been quarantined or tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020 (for employees) or July 2020 (for students)

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