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Mason announces booster shot requirement; spring semester classes to start as planned

Melanie Balog — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 18:39:06 +0000

Mason announces booster shot requirement; spring semester classes to start as planned Melanie Balog Fri, 12/31/2021 - 13:39

Dear Fellow Patriots,

After a very successful fall semester of us all working together to stay fully open and protected from COVID, we begin the new year with new challenges and new resolve. The rapid onset of the very contagious omicron variant has made Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland a national epicenter of new cases, so we need to take added precautions to stay healthy. Clearly, omicron has changed the rules, so we must adapt accordingly.

The bottom line for ��AV is: The university will open as planned on January 3, and spring semester classes will begin as planned on January 24. We will require all faculty, staff, and students to obtain a booster shot as soon as they are able, and provide proof of the booster to Mason. And we will continue our indoor masking, testing, and Mason COVID Health Check requirements.

For faculty and staff, work schedules with regard to telework and remote work will remain in place for the duration of the period documented in the agreement. Given the challenges associated with this variant, we encourage employees requesting additional flexibility to work directly with their supervisor.

As we have seen, circumstances can change quickly, so our health and safety team and university administrators will continue closely to monitor conditions and will notify the Mason community of any change in plans as soon as is possible. If a change in the modality of instruction for classes at the start of the spring semester becomes necessary, we will notify the university community by January 18.

As in the fall, the spring semester’s success will depend upon the active cooperation of the entire Mason community. We are all in this together.

Here are the next steps required as we plan for a safe and healthy spring semester:

BOOSTERS:

Public health experts have advised that vaccines are still the most effective tools to combat COVID-19, and recent scientific data overwhelmingly supports the effectiveness of booster shots in preventing severe disease and hospitalization.

Mason will require COVID-19 boosters for all faculty, staff and students, in observance of US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. Boosters are available for free to all faculty, staff, and students at Fenwick Library A Wing and also locally. Please schedule an appointment at vaccine.gmu.edu.

The CDC has approved and recommended vaccine boosters for anyone over age 16 who completed the Pfizer or Moderna series at least six months ago. Individuals who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible to receive a booster after at least two months. Individuals who received a WHO authorized vaccine different from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson are eligible for a booster after six months.

All Mason students, faculty and staff must submit proof that you’ve received the booster.

Mason students who were vaccinated by the August 1, 2021 deadline are eligible to receive a booster on February 1, 2022. The deadline to receive a booster and upload your documentation is February 15, 2022.

Mason faculty and staff who were vaccinated by the August 15, 2021 deadline are eligible to receive a booster on February 15, 2022. The deadline to receive a booster and upload your documentation is February 15, 2022.

Please submit your documentation through the Medicat Health Service portal. Those who are not eligible for a booster by February 2, 2022 will not be considered non-compliant until two weeks after your eligibility date.

Please consult with your primary healthcare provider if you have medical questions or concerns about the booster. You may apply for a medical or religious exemption from the booster, and if you received an exemption for the COVID vaccine, the exemption will also apply to this booster requirement. You do not need to re-apply for a medical or religious exemption unless your circumstances have changed.

We urge you to receive the booster as soon as you are eligible if you have not done so already. Please schedule your appointment at vaccine.gmu.edu.

TESTING:

All residential students, vaccinated and unvaccinated, are required to take a pre-arrival COVID test which will be supplied by Mason. If positive, you will not be able to move in until your isolation period is concluded. All residential students will be required to test again at move in and also 48 hours after their move-in test.

Detailed information for residential students will be sent via email directly to them and will include specific instructions for various residential populations (SciTech Campus, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, international students, etc.).

All faculty and staff, vaccinated and unvaccinated, who do not have an approved fully remote work agreement are required to test the week of January 17. Please note: This requirement applies to faculty and staff who have partial or no remote work agreements.

Mason will continue to offer on-campus testing, and we encourage the community to get tested when needed. In addition to our regular testing hours, testing will be available on Saturday, January 22 and Sunday, January 23. Please visit /safe-return-campus/personal-and-public-health/covid-19-testing for testing hours and locations.

If at any point if you develop symptoms, please seek medical care through your primary care provider, diagnostic testing locations, or Student Health Services. Please do not come to the Fenwick surveillance testing center if you are symptomatic.

ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE:

In accordance with CDC guidance, Mason has revised the previously required 10-day isolation and 14-day quarantine period to 5 days for those who test negative and are asymptomatic. For more details on isolation and quarantine requirements, please visit Mason’s Isolation and Quarantine Period Guidelines.

MASKS:

Masks remain important tools for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and continue to be required at Mason as they were in the fall semester. Some health experts are calling for the public to upgrade from cloth masks to at least surgical masks or even higher protective masks (i.e., N95, KN95, or KF94). We are working to obtain these newly recommended masks and will provide an update on their availability soon. To learn more about what type of mask is right for you, please visit the CDC website for advice about masks.

MASON COVID HEALTH CHECK:

The Mason COVID Health Check is still a critical part of our plan to keep our campuses safe. This spring, we are streamlining the Mason COVID Health Check and will now only require you to fill out the survey on the days you are coming to a Mason campus or site, or when you need to report a positive test.

Please continue to use the Mason COVID Health Check as your information helps our health and safety experts understand the extent and impact of COVID within the Mason community. If you have symptoms that could be COVID or are unexplained, please consult with your health care provider or Student Health Services, and get a diagnostic test if appropriate.

Thank you in advance for your continued commitment to maintaining your own health and that of your fellow Mason Patriots.

Sincerely,

Gregory Washington

President

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The GW Hatchet: Dr. Amira Roess comments on COVID-19 vaccine and GW’s plan to test all fully vaccinated students twice a month.

eander6 — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 19:19:20 +0000

The GW Hatchet: Dr. Amira Roess comments on COVID-19 vaccine and GW’s plan to test all fully vaccinated students twice a month. eander6 Thu, 12/09/2021 - 14:19

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College of Health and Human Services

Public Health

public health faculty

College of Health and Human Services Department of Global and Community Health

Covid, still big in Europe.

Politico: Dr. Amira Roess comments on COVID-19 and Ethiopia.

eander6 — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:01:29 +0000

Politico: Dr. Amira Roess comments on COVID-19 and Ethiopia. eander6 Wed, 11/10/2021 - 12:01

In This Story

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College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Global and Community Health

DCist: Mason nursing student Josue Reyes-Larios helps vaccinate unsheltered community members in Fairfax County.

eander6 — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 17:13:52 +0000

DCist: Mason nursing student Josue Reyes-Larios helps vaccinate unsheltered community members in Fairfax County. eander6 Thu, 10/14/2021 - 13:13

‘Trying To Chase A Train’: Fairfax’s Effort To Vaccinate Unhoused Residents.

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coronavirus

College of Health and Human Services

Nursing

CHHS in the Media

College of Health and Human Services Department of Global and Community Health

Should COVID-19 vaccination status be used when rationing scarce medical resources? Mason professor says it’s an ethical Pandora’s box.

John Hollis — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 20:17:25 +0000

Should COVID-19 vaccination status be used when rationing scarce medical resources? Mason professor says it’s an ethical Pandora’s box. John Hollis Thu, 10/07/2021 - 16:17

Andrew Peterson is an assistant professor of bioethics in the Department of Philosophy. Photo provided

��AV’s Andrew Peterson says that rationing medical care depending on vaccination status is ethically fraught, but it’s under consideration in parts of America as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to fill up hospitals and strain limited medical resources.

“It’s brutal,” Peterson said of possibly using vaccination status to decide which patients to admit to the ICU. “But it’s equally brutal to tell a family of someone who’s had a heart attack that their loved one can’t be admitted because ICUs are full with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.”

Peterson, an assistant professor of bioethics in the Department of Philosophy within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has worked on the ethics of medical resource rationing since the pandemic began. He has conducted surveys with Mason colleague Wesley Buckwalter, advocated for people with disabilities, and informed RAND Corps guidance on triage protocols.

“We’ve moved into a new phase of the pandemic—the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated—and ethical challenges are evolving.”

Iowa recently became the first state to announce “crisis standards of care,” where health care resources are rationed, with Alaska and Montana soon following with similar measures. More parts of the country could be in a similar situation with the winter flu season approaching and the delta variant continuing to spread. Among overwhelmed ICUs, the majority of hospitalizations have been people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite shots being free, safe, and readily available throughout the country.

Caring for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients is taking its toll on the medical field, Peterson said.

“It’s pushing clinical staff beyond the breaking point,” he said. “We’ve already hit the burnout stage. Now my clinical colleagues can only muster the word ‘helplessness.’ They’re trying to help people who won’t help themselves.”

As a result of medical resource shortages, many patients who don’t have COVID-19 but still need critical care are being turned away from hospitals.

Peterson cautioned against vaccination status determining who goes to the front of the line.

“Clinicians shouldn’t be in the position of judging patients’ behavior,” he said. “They have a duty to care for patients irrespective of how they ended up in the hospital. We wouldn’t turn car accident patients away because they weren’t wearing a seatbelt, so why would that be OK with vaccination status? It’s also hard to tell why people haven’t received their shot. Is it because they can’t access the shot? Or is it because they have anti-vaccine attitudes? Which reasons are good or bad?”

But even if vaccination status shouldn’t play a role in deciding who gets an ICU bed, Peterson suggested that it still might be factored in some part of the calculus. If two patients have equal consideration for ICU admission, but only one is vaccinated, Peterson said vaccination status might be used a “tie breaker.” He also suggested that vaccination status might be used once patients are discharged from the hospital to gauge the cost of their ICU stay. Some companies have raised insurance premiums on unvaccinated employees.

“Financially rewarding people for getting the shot might be effective way increase vaccinations and keep people out of the ICU.”

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coronavirus; COVID-19; Editorial

Vaccines

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Psychology

Center for the Arts Announces Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

Kirstin Franko — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:40:14 +0000

Center for the Arts Announces Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Kirstin Franko Fri, 10/01/2021 - 14:40

The Center for the Arts at ��AV is committed to the safety of its patrons, staff, volunteers, and performers during these everchanging times. Beginning October 18, and until further notice, all attendees of indoor events or performances at the Center for the Arts (or any of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts performance and exhibition venues), regardless of age, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the date of their visit or show a negative COVID-19 test result upon entry. Face coverings will be required for patrons ages two and up.

Read the full policy for detailed information regarding the new requirements, including how to prepare for attending an indoor event or performance.

For any questions or concerns about attending upcoming performances, please email (text) stagecfa@gmu.edu or call the Ticket Office (voice) 703-993-2787 to discuss options.

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College of Visual and Performing Arts

Center for the Arts

Staying vigilant in the fight against COVID will be key

John Hollis — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 22:29:16 +0000

Staying vigilant in the fight against COVID will be key John Hollis Thu, 08/19/2021 - 18:29

The Fall 2021 semester is about to begin, and everyone in the ��AV community needs to do their part to make sure that our campuses remain vibrant and that we all stay safe during the global pandemic.

Mandatory vaccinations, masks for indoors, ongoing surveillance testing and the daily Mason COVID Health Check are the primary ways in which the university hopes to keep the virus in check. Mason is welcoming roughly 5,400 residential students as well as non-residential students, faculty and staff to campus for the semester’s start.

Mason has fared far better than most universities in keeping COVID in check, but our steady vigilance must continue, said David Farris, Mason’s executive director of Safety and Emergency Management.

“I think Mason has done a good job, but we just need a few more folks to get vaccinated,” he said. “We’re in a good position to identify any potential problems and address them quickly.”

As of Thursday, Aug. 19, just under 93 percent of residential students have been vaccinated, with roughly two percent having received exemptions. Exemptions can be requested for medical or religious reasons. Mason’s medical personnel review each request and make decisions based on the individual’s medical information. But no exemptions will be given based solely on natural immunity or prior COVID infection, per the CDC guidance.

Additionally, better than 86 percent of Mason faculty and staff have been vaccinated as well.

All residential students and all unvaccinated students will be tested once per week this fall. Unvaccinated residential students are expected to be tested prior to arriving back on campus and will be tested twice per week throughout the semester, Farris said.

There have been 39 reported positive cases of COVID-19 in the Mason community since May 17, 18 of which remain active, Farris said.

“We’ve done pretty good,” Farris said, “but it’s important we continue following all the precautions we have in place.”

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coronavirus; COVID-19; Editorial

COVID-19 Testing

Vaccines are a key part of Mason’s fall plan

Colleen Rich — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 18:33:59 +0000

Vaccines are a key part of Mason’s fall plan Colleen Rich Mon, 08/09/2021 - 14:33

Vaccination clinic at EagleBank Arena. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Since the COVID-19 shutdowns, thousands of students, faculty and staff are heading back to universities to resume an on-campus experience. To safely return, vaccines have been an essential part of many institutions’ strategies.

“Vaccination provides an effective measure to significantly reduce the risk of infection to both the individual and, if the majority of the population is vaccinated, to the greater population,” said Amira Roess, professor of global health and epidemiology at ��AV’s College of Health and Human Services.

It’s one of the best chances we have to get ahead of COVID-19, said epidemiologist and Schar School professor Saskia Popescu.

“It’s been a long 18 months, but now more than ever we need to support public health interventions to help reduce COVID everywhere, because it’s not gone anywhere unless it’s gone everywhere,” Popescu said. “COVID is a global health issue and one that requires global vaccine equity and for us to help stop the spread at home.”

More vaccinations mean a lowered chance of transmission, especially for those who are vulnerable and unable to get vaccinated for health or religious reasons, Roess said.

“The more people who are unvaccinated, the more opportunities there are for the virus to replicate, which increases the probability of a more worrisome virus emerging,” she added.

The use of COVID vaccines are backed by a body of scientific research which supports their effectiveness in protecting against infectious diseases, including SARS COV 2. Many organizations are making the COVID vaccine a priority.

Mason experts think other organizations could follow suit.

“All school systems require children to be vaccinated in order to protect children from largely avoidable morbidity and mortality, including measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and others,” Roess said. “The military, health care systems, countries, and many others require their populations begin vaccination to reduce and even eliminate avoidable infectious diseases morbidity and mortality.”

Experts suggest that maintaining a full and active college experience will depend on everyone doing their part.

“A fully vaccinated campus means we can enjoy more in-person activities with a lot less stress over whether or not an exposure has occurred,” Roess said. “We can avoid hearing a tragic story, or many stories, about one of our community members having severe disease or worse.”

While older individuals and those with underlying conditions are at greatest risk from COVID, Roess said, vaccination provides a benefit for everyone as it’s impossible to predict who will have severe effects.

“We’ve heard about perfectly healthy individuals experiencing long-term health effects from COVID-19,” she said. “Vaccination has been shown over and over again to greatly reduce your risk of infection in the first place.”

With the delta variant on the rise, staying committed to safety is increasingly critical.

“If you are unvaccinated and not adhering to mask wearing and physical distancing guidelines 100% of the time, it’s nearly certain you will become infected,” Roess said.

The delta variant is the most transmissible one yet, she said, and the more it spreads, the greater the chance it could change and lead to subsequent variants of concern.

Even for vaccinated individuals, Popescu recommended wearing a mask indoors when out in public.

“During these surges, we need to see masking and vaccines as complementary,” Popescu said.

“The other big issue is that there is some emerging evidence that cross-immunity between natural infection from one variant does not necessarily lead to full protection against the delta variant,” Roess said. The CDC recommends getting vaccinated regardless of whether you have already had COVID-19.

From universities to nearly all spheres of life, many people are returning to pre-COVID norms.

“The only responsible way to make a gradual return is to get vaccinated,” Roess said.

Learn more on Mason’s Access to Excellence Podcast:

Ep. 21: The coronavirus as Rubik’s Cube, Part 1 with Amira Roess

Ep. 22: The coronavirus as Rubik’s Cube, Part 2 with Saskia Popescu

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Mason offers new incentives to campus community to meet Aug. 1 deadline to declare vaccination status

John Hollis — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:51:04 +0000

Mason offers new incentives to campus community to meet Aug. 1 deadline to declare vaccination status John Hollis Wed, 07/28/2021 - 12:51

Student Justin Barnes receives the COVID-19 vaccine at EagleBank Arena. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Everybody who plans to come to campus needs to be vaccinated for the fall semester, and ��AV officials are making it worth your while to confirm your vaccination status.

The entire Mason community of more than 50,000 students, faculty and staff is being asked to help the university gain a more complete holistic picture of the community’s overall health by uploading their COVID-19 vaccination status in the Health Services Patient Portal by Aug. 1. The information will be critical in finalizing plans for diagnostic and surveillance testing, symptom screening, capacity at in-person events and dining facilities, transportation and use of common spaces.

The university announced in late July that all students, faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated for the coming semester. Employees seeking a medical or religious exemption must do so by Aug. 15.

“Mason has worked hard to put safety first, and it has shown in our case counts and overall management of COVID during the past year,” said Julie Zobel, Mason’s associate vice president for safety, emergency, and enterprise risk management. “The next step in keeping the Mason community safe depends on knowing the rate of vaccination on campus. This will help us put the right safeguards in place this fall.”

As an added incentive, those who meet the deadline will automatically be placed in a raffle with the chance to win parking permits, professional development funding, bookstore gift cards, tickets to athletic events, performances at the Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center, and MasonMoney. Campus community members do not have to be vaccinated to be eligible for the giveaways, but must upload or declare their vaccination status.

Alvaro Muniz, a project manager and business analyst in the Office of the Provost, was among the early winners, receiving a $500 gift card from Barnes & Noble for having uploaded his vaccination status in June.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” he said. “I would have put it up whether there were added incentives or not. If the incentives get people to participate in the program, then all the better.”

Individual vaccination records will be confidentially maintained by Safety, Emergency, & Enterprise Risk Management, Student Health Services, and Human Resources. The information submitted will not be shared with supervisors or course instructors.

The vaccination status of each Mason student, faculty member and staff person will determine which testing category they are in this semester. Those who are vaccinated will not be tested unless they are in a high-contact role, such as a dance class, police officer or residential student, while non-vaccinated community members will be tested at least once a week.

Knowing the vaccination status of the Mason community will also help Mason properly staff collection sites for both diagnostic and surveillance testing, as well as the COVID testing laboratory, Zobel said. That knowledge will also help university officials more accurately estimate space needs for unvaccinated individuals at indoor events, on Mason shuttles, in dining halls and other common areas as unvaccinated individuals will be required to both wear a mask and maintain proper physical distance.

Each person’s individual vaccine status will also help determine the long-term need for continuing the daily Mason COVID Health Check, protocols for notifications and course suspension in the event of another outbreak and any breakthrough cases of COVID that involve a vaccinated individual.

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coronavirus; COVID-19; Editorial

Vaccines