September, 2021

 Dear St. Mary’s Health Clinics Staff and Volunteers:

Thank you for everything you do to keep patients and your coworkers safe and healthy. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is an important step to prevent getting sick with COVID-19 disease. We care about your health; you are on the front lines and risk being exposed to COVID-19 each day on the job. Healthcare personnel like you were among the first to receive the vaccine because of your essential role in fighting this pandemic. Getting vaccinated helps protect you and the persons you care for, and who are at risk for severe illness from COVID-19. This is also an opportunity for you to serve as a role model in our community. By being vaccinated you can positively influence vaccination decisions of coworkers, residents, friends, and family.

COVID-19 vaccines are an important tool to help stop the pandemic. After vaccination, all should continue to follow all the current guidance to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds, following facility guidance on visitation and infection control, and cleaning hands often.

Effective immediately we are requiring that all staff and volunteers be vaccinated for COVID-19 unless they qualify for an exemption. For current active staff and volunteers not vaccinated, the deadline to show proof will be November 15, 2021.

The definition of Fully Vaccinated:

Fully Vaccinated
According to the CDC, in general, people are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19:
·  2 weeks after their second dose in a two dose COVID-19 vaccination series approved by the Food and Drug Administration “FDA” or World Health Organization “WHO”.
· 2 weeks after a single-dose COVID-19 approved by the FDA or the WHO.

Staff or volunteers who do not meet these requirements are NOT fully vaccinated.

Human Resources or Clinic leadership will review the attestation form and proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and verify on the attestation form that they have reviewed the proof of full COVID-19 vaccination provided by the employee. Acceptable proof that an individual is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 includes:

• an original CDC COVID-19 vaccination card
• a paper or electronic copy of a CDC COVID-19 vaccination card
• if vaccinated in another country, then an original or copy of an alternative official vaccination record, as proof of FDA- or WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccination status

Staff and Volunteers have the right to refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and to refuse to provide an attestation reflecting their COVID-19 vaccination status, but the staff member will be considered to be unvaccinated for the purposes of this policy.

Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 must legibly show, at a minimum:
1. Name of the individual vaccinated
2. The manufacturer of the vaccine
3. The date(s) on which the vaccine was administered

 St. Mary’s Health Clinics must maintain the confidentiality of vaccination status as provided by law. All information gathered under this Policy must be retained according to the applicable retention schedule and in a secure medical file separate from the staff member’s personnel file.

 Thank you again for all you are doing to keep our patients and staff safe and healthy. We want you to feel confident in your decision to get vaccinated. We welcome any questions you may have. By getting vaccinated, you can serve as a role model in your community and can positively influence vaccination decisions of coworkers, patients, friends, and family.

Please contact us with additional questions.

Sincerely,

Susan Gehlsen

Executive Director, St. Mary’s Health Clinics
sgehlsen@stmarysclinics.org
651-287-7712

Chris Hanson (chanson@stmarysclinics.org)
St. Mary’s Health Clinics
1884 Randolph Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
(651-287-7701)

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