Archive for the ‘Vaccine’ Category.

Will LVC Mandate COVID-19 Vaccinations?

Q: Now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine, will LVC mandate that students and employees receive it?

A: Out of an abundance of caution and with the guidance of our healthcare partners, the College did not mandate the vaccine while it was under emergency use authorization. On Monday, Aug. 23, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination for individuals ages 16 years and older. The Moderna vaccine is on track to be approved this fall.

LVC administrators are consulting with advisors on- and off-campus to develop a vaccination policy that will work best for our campus community. At this time, LVC continues to strongly encourage students and employees to get vaccinated—to protect public health and the health and safety of each other.

For more information, see:

Full Approval of Covid Vaccine Frees Up Some Colleges to Make Mandates Official

List of Colleges Requiring the COVID-19 Vaccination

FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccination

Return-to-Campus Plans [Zoom recording]

Vaccine Clinic: Sign Up Now

LVC will hold an on-campus vaccination clinic Friday, Aug. 27 (first dose) and Friday, Sept. 17 (second dose) for students, employees, and their immediate family members. Student Affairs will work with students who need to arrive earlier than they had planned to accommodate their participation in the vaccine clinic.

Individuals that have had the first dose of Pfizer can sign up for the second dose of Pfizer at the Aug. 27 clinic.  Sign up below, and bring your vaccine card. At least 21 days must have passed since your received your first dose. Any amount of days after the 21 days is acceptable. 

Register by August 17 to secure your spot.

SIGN UP NOW.

Fall 2021 Return-to-Campus Protocols

Dear LVC Students and Families,

The fall 2021 semester begins in just a few weeks. We have been closely monitoring the pandemic situation and consulted with Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to develop protocols and policies to guide us in returning to campus.

The below COVID-19 protocols are based on campus vaccination rates, levels of infection in our surrounding county, and public health guidance. Some of last year’s restrictions have been lifted or loosened to allow for more socializing—which is crucial to our educational mission and to our community’s mental health and well-being. Other restrictions, such as universal indoor masking, remain in place, given the infectiousness of the Delta variant and until a higher percentage of students report being vaccinated. As has been all-too-common during the pandemic, the situation can evolve quickly. I’ll keep you informed if our plans change.

Vaccinations give us the greatest chance for an as normal as possible semester and reduce our chances of having to pivot to online learning. Please report being fully vaccinated here. 

Let’s all recommit to following LVC’s Community Covenant.

For ourselves. For each other.

President James M. MacLaren, M.A., Ph.D.

FALL 2021 SEMESTER PANDEMIC PROTOCOLS

LVC will hold an on-campus vaccination clinic Friday, Aug. 27 (first dose) and Friday, Sept. 17 (second dose) for students, employees, and their immediate family members. Student Affairs will work with students who need to arrive earlier than they had planned to accommodate their participation in the vaccine clinic.

Individuals that have had the first dose of Pfizer can sign up for the second dose of Pfizer at the Aug. 27 clinic.  Sign up below, and bring your vaccine card. At least 21 days must have passed since your received your first dose. Any amount of days after the 21 days is acceptable. 

Register by August 17 to secure your spot.

SIGN UP NOW.

Unvaccinated students must provide evidence of negative test results within 72 hours of arrival on-campus.

SUBMIT RESULTS HERE.

Students are responsible for acquiring their own tests. They must provide negative SARS-CoV-2 test results within 72 hours of their arrival on campus. Either PCR or antigen tests are acceptable; antibody test results will not be accepted. The COVID test must be administered within 72 hours of your arrival at LVC. For example, if your arrival date is Aug. 28, the test must be completed on Aug. 25, 26, or 27, and the results need to be submitted by Aug. 28. If you have had a positive COVID test in the 90 days before your arrival to campus, you do not need to provide a new, re-entry test result. However, you should provide the details of your positive test result using this link as well. Call Shroyer Health Center if you have questions at (717) 867-6232.

Students who have not submitted negative test results will not be permitted to move into their on-campus residences or attend classes. Separate protocols will apply to student-athletes per NCAA and MAC requirements.

The College will conduct surveillance testing of unvaccinated students and employees. 

LVC will notify individuals selected for surveillance testing. Separate protocols apply to student-athletes per NCAA and MAC requirements. 

Indoor masking is required for everyone. 

LVC requires indoor masking in all campus settings, including residence halls. You do not have to wear a mask inside your room or apartment. Roommates are considered part of your household/family unit. 

Neck gaiters, bandanas, and face shields are NOT adequate face coverings. 

The CDC recommends non-valved, multi-layer cloth masks to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Recent studies indicated that neck gaiters and bandanas are not as effective. Please do not use neck gaiters, bandanas, or face shields in place of masks. 

Outdoor masking is not required. 

Practice social distancing. Classrooms, labs, and dining areas will have 3 feet of distancing. 

Residential students:

  • Bring your vaccination card to show when you pick up your key at move-in if you have not already uploaded a copy. 
  • Pack only essential items so you are prepared in case the College needs to close residential facilities.
  • For questions about bunking beds and moving furniture, consult with your residential assistant. Protocols will vary according to spaces.

Vaccination is strongly encouraged. 

Vaccines are not just about personal protection—they are vital to public health and are recognized as the way to return to a fully normal environment. We implore those who are hesitant to listen to the science to talk to their primary care physician and do what’s right for our community and our vulnerable members. Learn more from Dr. Courtney Lappas. 

Sign up for a vaccine at Penn State Health

Sign up for a vaccine at WellSpan. 

Pharmacies including Rite-Aid and Walmart also have COVID vaccines. Check online for availability and locations

Report being fully vaccinated here. 

If you have already submitted your vaccine information, you do not need to resubmit your information. Please bring your proof of vaccination with you to campus.

Students must complete the Symptom Tracker 1) if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or any other symptoms for which you need medical care, 2) if you wish to report close contact with COVID-19 positive individuals, or 3) if you wish to report test results from off-campus testing (if not already reported). 

Students do not have to complete the symptom tracker daily like they did last academic year.

Contact tracing will continue. 

LVC’s contact tracers will contact you if you have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or have tested positive for the virus. Please respond to them; they will advise you on the next steps. If you are a contact of someone positive for COVID-19 and are fully vaccinated, the contact tracing team may reach out for record-keeping purposes. Contact tracing details are confidential. Students and employees will not be informed of your name or personal information. 

Quarantining for 10 days will be required if you are unvaccinated and exposed to SARS-CoV-2. 

If you are fully vaccinated and learn that you have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, contact Shroyer Health Center. 

Contact Shroyer at 717-867-6232 or healthservices@lvc.edu. Even if you are fully vaccinated, you should monitor for symptoms, especially after a known exposure. 

Isolation will be required for anyone who is symptomatic. 

Whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated, you will be required to isolate if you have symptoms of COVID-19. If you test positive for the virus, you will need to isolate for 10 days. It’s likely that students will need to isolate at home, not on-campus. Students in isolation will be responsible for completing their work as with any other infectious disease. Health center staff will give students isolation instructions whether their symptoms are COVID-19 related or not. Self-isolation when ill with the common cold, influenza, or other viral illnesses is the best way to avoid getting others sick. 

Students may visit other residential facilities this semester. Masking is required. 

The only people you should engage with without wearing your mask are your roommates or housemates. Each resident is permitted to host one student guest. 

Off-campus visitors are prohibited from entering residence halls. 

Residence hall common areas and kitchens will be open with limited capacity. 

Clean up after yourself when using common areas and wash hands frequently. Avoid these areas if you are sick, quarantined, or isolated.  

Student dining capacity will increase, but social distancing of 3 feet is required. 

The plexiglass shields have been removed. Students should distance and dine only with students in their “bubble.” 

Visitors from off-campus such as speakers, presenters, and prospective students and families are allowed on campus, but they must be masked indoors and practice social distancing. 

Always remind visitors to they cannot come to campus if they have symptoms or have had a known, recent exposure to someone with COVID-19. 

Large indoor gatherings will be limited according to capacity. Masking is required. Distancing is required for those who are not part of a household unit.

Convocation, Homecoming, and Inauguration events are under review and will be adapted as necessary. Students should consult with their faculty or staff advisors in the preliminary stages of planning indoor events so the advisor can consult with the administration. 

Indoor gatherings including food or drink are not permitted. 

Students can sit outside or under the tent near Mary Green to eat take-out. 

COVID-19 testing for students is available at the Shroyer Health Center.   

A nurse will examine you before performing a test. Contact Shroyer at 717-867-6232 or healthservices@lvc.edu. If the symptom tracker gives you a red x, a Shroyer nurse will contact you. Students tested off-campus for SARS-CoV-2 should report their results to health center staff.

In-person classes will not have a voluntary hybrid option. 

The expectation is that if a course was scheduled for in-person instruction, then that is the assumed instructional delivery format (versus students electing a Hyflex model based on their individual preference). If a student contacts a faculty member to request to take a course online or hybrid, then the faculty member will refer the student to the registrar’s office, since a faculty member cannot make that decision. Students should contact the registrar’s office to submit the necessary medical documentation to be considered for taking a course online. This documentation will be reviewed by a committee that contains medical professionals to determine if an accommodation is warranted. If an accommodation is warranted, then discussions will occur with the department chair or program director, and the faculty member to determine the best path forward. 

Completing academic work during quarantine and isolation:

If you are enrolled in an in-person course and you must quarantine or isolate, you are responsible for completing your work as with any other infectious disease or illness. Students should work closely with their faculty members to determine the best way to complete course objectives during this time. 

Classrooms will have assigned seats. 

Students will have assigned seats in classrooms to support contact tracing. Seats will be 3 feet apart. 

Labs and music practices will have mitigations in place. 

Faculty members will advise students on protocols particular to lab and music settings. 

Outside community members are not permitted to use indoor athletics facilities (fitness center, pool) or Bishop Library. 

Protocols will be in place for student-athletes participating in fall training and competition. 

Vaccinated Student-athletes 

  • Fully vaccinated student-athletes or those with documented COVID-19 within the last 90 days will not be tested unless symptomatic or identified by a risk assessment of a documented close contact with COVID-19.  

Unvaccinated Student-athletes 

  • ENTRY TESTING: Unvaccinated student-athletes may not compete or practice until testing negative for Sars-CoV-2 within three to five days of arrival on campus.  
  • SURVEILLANCE TESTING: Unvaccinated student-athletes are required to participate in weekly testing one to three times per week, depending on the type of test administered. 
  • PRE-COMPETITION TESTING: Unvaccinated student-athletes will need negative test results within one-to-three days of the first competition of the week, depending on the type of test administered. 
  • IN CASES OF CLOSE CONTACT: Unvaccinated student-athletes identified as a close contact of another individual with confirmed positive COVID-19 will need to quarantine in accordance with local public health authority guidance. 

If there is sustained increased transmission on a team, all symptomatic individuals and individuals with close contacts will be tested. 

Student-athletes who test positive for COVID-19 will be placed in isolation for 10 days and not released until at least 24 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and symptoms have improved. No exercise is permitted during isolation. 

All student-athletes should mask during travel. 

Spectators are allowed at outdoor athletic events. 

Spectators do not need to wear masks outdoors but should stay 3 feet apart from those who are not part of their household. 

We will determine the protocol for spectators at indoor events at a later time. 

The risk of myocarditis in student-athletes is much higher for those who are unvaccinated. 

Unvaccinated student-athletes have a 0.5-2.5% chance of developing myocarditis compared to vaccinated student athletes, whose risk is exceptionally low, at 0.0006%. 

Top 5 Things to Know About COVID-19 Vaccination

From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention:

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the most important things we can do together to stop this pandemic. It can help protect you, your friends, your family, and your community. Here are the top 5 things you should know about COVID-19 vaccination.

  1. COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in US history. These vaccines cannot give you COVID-19.

Results from vaccine safety monitoring efforts are reassuring. Some people have no side effects. Others have reported common side effects after COVID-19 vaccination like pain, redness, or swelling at injection site. You may also have tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever or nausea. These reactions are common. Serious safety problems are rare.

  1. COVID-19 vaccines work.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help protect you from getting sick or severely ill with COVID-19. It may also help protect people around you, like your friends, your family, our school, and our community.

  1. You may have side effects after vaccination, but these are normal.

You may have some side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, such as pain, redness or swelling at the injection site. You may also have tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, or nausea. These are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they typically go away in a few days. Some people have no side effects.

Talk to your doctor about taking over-the-counter medicine, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, or antihistamines, for any pain you may have after getting vaccinated. It is not recommended you take these medicines before vaccination to try to prevent side effects.

LVC employees can use their COVID-19 sick days if experiencing side effects from vaccination.

  1. It takes 2 weeks after vaccination for you to be considered “fully vaccinated,” meaning your body has built protection against the virus that causes COVID-19.

People are considered fully vaccinated:

  • 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
  • 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until you are fully vaccinated.

  1. After you are fully vaccinated, you can start to do some things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccines are the key to getting back to normal. If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. More details about what you can do can be found on CDC’s webpage.

Although COVID-19 vaccines are effective at keeping you from getting sick, scientists are still learning many things:

  • How effective the vaccines are against new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.
  • How well the vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications.
  • How long COVID-19 vaccines protect people.

If you want to know more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/vaccines.

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You will not have to quarantine, isolate, or be tested for the fall semester if you are vaccinated. 

Submit your proof of vaccination to LVC and be entered into a weekly $100 drawing.