Penn State College of Medicine Pandemic Response highlights COVID-19 vaccination deadlines, FAQs

From left, Dr. Leslie Parent, vice dean for research and graduate studies; Dr. Terry Wolpaw, vice dean of educational affairs; Dr. Charles Lang, associate dean for graduate studies; and Dr. Neal Thomas, associate dean for clinical research.

College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Nov. 19 about COVID-19 vaccination deadlines and FAQs.

This Week’s Updates:

CMS Guidance Requires First Dose by Dec. 6; Full Vaccination by Jan. 4

The deadlines related to the vaccine mandate have recently changed, based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance as well as the federal contractor mandate.

First Dose

• All unvaccinated employees and students must receive their first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or have an accommodation in place by Monday, Dec. 6.
• Medical or religious accommodation requests must be filed by Monday, Nov. 29, to allow time to be vaccinated prior to the Dec. 6 date. Those applying for medical or religious accommodations should use the following forms:
  • Employees –
    • File for an employee medical accommodation.
    • File for an employee religious accommodation.
  • Students – Specific information for students on where to file for accommodations to be announced as soon as possible.
• Failure to provide proof of full vaccination or be granted an accommodation will result in limited access to clinical facilities, classes and potential additional sanctions.

Final Dose

All unvaccinated employees and students must also receive their final vaccine dose — either their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine — or be granted an accommodation by Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

Once vaccinated, all employees and students are required to provide proof of vaccination or have an approved accommodation on file by Jan. 4. Proof of vaccination instruction is as follows:

• Employees – Proof of employee vaccination needs to be uploaded in two locations –
• Salesforce Health Cloud for Penn State and ReadySet for Penn State Health/Hershey Medical Center.
• Students – Proof of student vaccination needs to be uploaded to the University Health Services (UHS).

If you are already vaccinated, please ensure you have uploaded your vaccination status as listed above. Otherwise, there is nothing more you need to do at this time.

Vaccine Mandate Frequently Asked Questions – Now Updated Online

For more information on the vaccine mandate, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

Deadline for Review of Human Research Studies

Reminder: Winter break begins at the close of business on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 and ends Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. The extended winter break will impact the review and approval of clinical research projects. The University committee will conduct the last review for 2021 on Thursday, Dec. 16. In order to allow time for review at the College of Medicine – required prior to review at the University – all new or resubmissions should be submitted using the InfoReady system by Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.

Prior Approval for Domestic College-Affiliated Travel No Longer Necessary

As of Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students are no longer required to obtain prior approval for College-affiliated domestic travel, so long as the funds to defray travel costs have already been included in an approved budget. There is also no further need to submit any requests for domestic college-affiliated travel to the Controller’s Office. Individuals wishing to travel internationally on College-affiliated business must still obtain prior approval from Dr. Kevin Black, interim Dean.

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