September 3, 2021
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. The case was placed in isolation promptly after the positive test result was received. The college conducted case investigation and contact tracing activities, which did not identify any close contacts as a result. We continue to report all associated COVID-19 cases online, found in the "Total Cases" section of the dashboard.
Information on air purifiers and HVAC systems
Reed's facilities services team has published information on the presence and performance of HVAC and other air circulation systems on campus. This information can be found in a previous communication here, on the facilities services webpage, and as part of the COVID-19 prevention and response plan. Staff members regularly conduct evaluations and maintenance on our air circulation systems on campus.
COVID-19 vaccination
Currently, individuals with certain underlying health conditions are eligible to receive an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Faculty and staff who meet this criteria should contact their healthcare provider to discuss. Students who would like to be considered for an additional dose should contact the health and counseling center. The HCC currently has stock of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
We anticipate more information about additional doses for other individuals will be available from state and federal public health agencies in late September. Reed will share this information, including eligibility and resources, when it becomes available.
At this time, 95% of Reed staff and faculty have been verified as fully vaccinated by the Reed Human Resources team.
98% of the approximately 1,600 potential students for the fall 2021 semester have submitted records of vaccination to the HCC. 97% of all potential students have been verified as fully vaccinated, 1% of students are partially vaccinated.
Less than 1% of students have submitted exemptions to the COVID vaccination requirement. Staff continue to work with the 1% of students who have not yet engaged with this requirement. Students who continue to remain out of compliance with this policy may be placed on involuntary leave and lose the ability to participate in other campus activities.
Surveillance testing next week
Next week, surveillance testing will take place on Tuesday, September 7 from 8 AM to 11 AM and Thursday, September 9 from 12 PM to 2 PM on the patio of the Gray Campus Center. Individuals may drop in to the testing location to complete their required COVID-19 surveillance test during any of the available hours; no appointments are necessary at this time.
All community members who have not submitted records of full vaccination to HR (faculty/staff) or the HCC (students) are required to test once during each week they will be on campus. In addition, approximately 300 fully vaccinated community members are randomly selected each week to participate in surveillance testing as another means of monitoring for COVID-19 on campus. Selected individuals were notified earlier today.
Individuals do not need to test during weeks they are not coming to campus. 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.