Student-facing higher education employees now eligible for vaccines: What’s your vaccination plan? — As of today, COVID-19 vaccines are available to all student-facing higher employees in Colorado. Are you eligible? According to Mines, anyone who is currently working on campus or planning to work on campus this summer or fall is considered to be “student facing” and therefore eligible for vaccination starting today. That includes:
- Academic and research faculty
- Administrative faculty
- Classified staff
- Student employees (teaching assistants, Residence Life RAs, research assistants, work study, summer camp counselors, peer mentors and student workers in the library, Student Rec Center, Student Center, etc.)
All Mines employees are highly encouraged to pursue appointments with a local healthcare system, pharmacy or other vaccine provider as soon as they are able. The state’s mass vaccination clinic at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City has also begun accepting appointments for Phase 1B.4. Sign up at: www.centura.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine-information/vaccine-events.
The state has not standardized requirements to prove eligibility at vaccine locations. We recommend that you bring a copy or screenshot of your paystub to your appointment as proof of eligibility. For a complete list of Colorado vaccine providers, visit the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website. COVIDCheck Colorado is also managing a registry for people who want to get vaccinated in partnership with local medical providers. To register for vaccination via COVIDCheck Colorado, please use this link.
In addition, Mines has partnered with LifeHealth LLC to offer vaccination clinics on campus. At this time, vaccine supply is extremely limited, but Mines hopes to expand on-campus vaccination opportunities in the future. Those eligible for the first clinic (faculty and staff only) were contacted earlier this week with an invitation to register.
COVID-19 Dashboard Update: Campus case counts trending in wrong direction – After hitting a spring semester low earlier this month (six active cases on March 5), COVID-19 cases – and outbreaks – are on the rise again on campus.
- Cases: The Mines COVID-19 dashboard was updated today, revealing 43 active cases on campus. A total of 2,186 tests were completed last week, with a positivity rate of 1.10 percent. Additional case details are available here.
- Outbreaks: Three new outbreaks were declared on campus this week – in Spruce Hall, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi – in addition to the existing outbreak in Mines Athletics (Women’s Basketball). CDPHE defines outbreaks as two or more individuals within a cohort (facility, business, non-household group) who have tested positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period. The state’s outbreak report is updated each Wednesday at covid19.colorado.gov/covid19-outbreak-data.
NOTE: Outbreaks remain active in the state database until 28 days have passed without a positive case. That means a cohort (residence hall floor or house) could have already been released from quarantine, with no additional cases/transmission identified, but is still considered an “active” outbreak by the state. We have removed cohorts that have already been released from quarantine from this message.
Calling all students: It’s time to start making your vaccination plan, too – State officials expect that all adults in Colorado will be eligible for vaccination by mid-April. That includes YOU, undergraduate and graduate students of Mines. And while Mines continues to pursue on-campus vaccination clinics, you should begin exploring all your options NOW. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for anyone over 16, and both the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are approved for anyone 18 or older.
A few questions to start considering now:
- Do you plan to get vaccinated here in Colorado? If not, when is the general public eligible for vaccination in your home state?
- Are there waiting lists/vaccine registries you can put your name on now? (COVIDCheck Colorado is managing one, if you’ll get vaccinated in Colorado.)
- Can you get vaccinated through your regular healthcare provider? Or should you sign up with a community vaccine provider, like a grocery store pharmacy or state-sponsored mass vaccination clinic?
- Are you planning to work, intern or travel this summer? What are the vaccination requirements of your destination/future employer?
Widespread vaccination among the Oredigger community is the key to our return to campus – and normal activities – in the fall. So, roll up your sleeve and do your part and get the shot.
When the going gets tough, Orediggers look out for their fellow Orediggers. Start by getting tested today – We get it. We’re all d-o-n-e with COVID-19 and all of the restrictions the pandemic has introduced into our daily lives. But Orediggers don’t just give up when the going gets tough – we buckle down and get things done. And getting to the end of the semester – without large-scale outbreaks and quarantines on campus – will take the collective “grit” of us all.
A great place to start? Make an appointment today to get tested for COVID-19 at the COVIDCheck Colorado site on campus. Campus residents (residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses) are still required to get tested once a week, and Mines highly recommends all other students (and on-campus employees) get tested at least twice a month. Sign up for free at primarybio.com/a/mines.
Reminder: Orediggers should show the testing staff at COVIDCheck Colorado the same appreciation and respect they would any medical professional or professor. Any inappropriate behavior at the testing site will be reported to the Dean of Students Office
Reminder: Self-report your vaccination status to Mines using this new portal – The Mines COVID-19 Response Initiator Team (CRIT) has launched an easy-to-use portal for Mines community members to voluntarily report their vaccination status. Community members who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (meaning you have received all the necessary doses) are encouraged to report this information to the university.
CRIT will only use this information in the case that you are identified as a close contact of a positive case. In that event, CRIT will NOT issue a quarantine directive if they have record of you being vaccinated. Additionally, as part of our continued efforts to be transparent about the pandemic, Mines hopes to make the percentage of campus community members who have been vaccinated available as part of our COVID-19 Dashboard.
- Students: You can upload a copy of your vaccination record to the Student Health Center, via the Health Portal in Trailhead.
- Faculty and Staff: Once you submit the form through TeamDynamix, a member of CRIT will be in touch to verify your vaccination.