April 23, 2020

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

I write to you with our weekly update from the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group (CRAG). We have highlighted essential points in yellow.

New Cases at Reed

Since our last update, we have identified one new confirmed COVID-19 cases at Reed. We continue to report all associated COVID-19 cases online, found in the "Total Cases" section of the dashboard.

COVID-19 Vaccine

As of this past Monday, April 19, all individuals 16 and older are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the state of Oregon.

Since our last update, Reed has not received any further information or estimates as to when we may receive COVID-19 vaccine from the state to distribute to our community.

Important: Reed community members should not wait for a Reed-sponsored vaccine clinic due to the uncertainty of when Reed will receive the vaccine. Eligible community members should visit the Oregon COVID-19 Vaccination webpage and sign up with the Get Vaccinated Oregon portal, or contact their healthcare provider.

Many institutions across the country have begun announcing their vaccine requirement plans for the fall. Reed's COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group continues to discuss if the COVID vaccine will be required for community members this fall; a decision has not yet been made.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines and eligibility, please review the Reed Vaccine FAQ.

Surveillance testing next week

Next week, surveillance testing will take place from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the student union on Monday, April 26 and Thursday, April 29. The sign up sheet for these dates will be sent via email today.

In order to best protect the Reed community, it is imperative that all community members participate in surveillance testing as appropriate, regardless of vaccination status. For more information about the Reed COVID-19 surveillance testing program, please visit our website here.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group at coronavirusquestions@reed.edu.

Sincerely,

Madison Riethman, MPH, CPH
COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Health Project Manager
Health & Counseling Services
Reporting on behalf of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group

PS: As a reminder, you can track all our COVID-19 communications to members of the Reed Community here.