College of Medicine Pandemic Response Friday Round-Up – Week of Jan. 11-15
College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Jan. 15 about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Mark your calendar – COM town hall scheduled for Jan. 19: Join us Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 4 p.m., via Zoom for a town hall dedicated to our continued COVID response. To add the event to your calendar or for Zoom information, please visit this link.
COVID-19 vaccination update: At this time, all faculty, staff and students should have received emails to sign up for the vaccine. The email will be from “covid19vaccine,” and the subject will read “Important COVID-19 Vaccination Scheduling Information.” For more information on the vaccine, please refer to the FAQ document and join us for the town hall on Jan. 19 (details above). If you become sick from the vaccine or have questions, please call Penn State University Employee Health at 814-863-8492.
FFCRA coronavirus benefit ended Dec. 31: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) benefit ended on Dec. 31, 2020, and is no longer available. If you need to take time off for COVID-related reasons, the best option is to use your sick leave. If you have questions, please contact Occupational Health at 814-863-8492.
Continued pause on in-person interaction clinical research studies: Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health continue to have a pause all clinical research studies involving in-person interaction with participants who do not have a direct drug or device therapeutic benefit. See details from the Nov. 23, 2020, announcement.
Return COVID testing for all students: Reminder that students are expected to participate in two different rounds of COVID-19 testing connected to your return to the educational environment. Your first test depends on when you return to campus. Please refer to the email received from your program coordinator. The second test will be a rapid test, which will be done next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 15 and 16, at the University Conference Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. All students will receive an email directly from Information Services with instructions on how to schedule and the link to do so.
University Fitness Center remains closed until Jan. 25: Out of caution due to the high number of COVID-19 infections in our community as well as at Hershey Medical Center, College of Medicine leadership has postponed reopening the University Fitness Center until Monday, Jan. 25.
In case you missed it
See last week’s email on the following topics:
- Graduate Students: Remote Learning Following the Holidays
- Return-to-Work Authorization Form – Reminder
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
- 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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