ALL NPPS Members

["Santiago, Carlene" <csantiago AT bnl.gov>]

Hiii......this new requirement applies to ALL BNL Lab employees - despite location.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Broadcast-l <broadcast-l-bounces AT lists.bnl.gov> On Behalf Of BNL Media & Communications Office
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 2:28 PM
To: BROADCAST-L <broadcast-l AT lists.bnl.gov>
Subject: COVID-19 Vaccinations Soon to be a Requirement for Brookhaven Science Associates Staff

 

NOTE: The following message is being sent to the Lab community on behalf of Laboratory Director Doon Gibbs. Note to supervisors: Please share this message with members of your staff who don't have regular access to email.

 

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COVID-19 Vaccinations Soon to be a Requirement for Brookhaven Science Associates Staff

 

Over the past 18 months, the Brookhaven Lab community has come together in remarkable ways to fulfill our vital mission and to protect one another during the world's worst pandemic in more than 100 years. As a team, we continued our science and technology mission, made crucial contributions to COVID-19 research, continued to deliver critical medical isotopes, kept preparations for the Electron-Ion Collider moving forward - and much more. We did it all while adapting to alternative work environments and new health and safety protocols. 

 

We are now in the third wave of the virus. As of this writing, 250 of our Brookhaven colleagues have contracted COVID-19. Thankfully, almost all have recovered, although some have suffered severe symptoms and lengthy illnesses - and, sadly, we lost one. The effects have been multiplied manyfold by the impact that the pandemic has also had on immediate and extended family members and friends.

 

It is incumbent on us to do everything possible to overcome the adverse effects of the virus and to create a safe work environment for our coworkers, guests, and users.  Given the recent announcement of full Food and Drug Administration approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, along with the continuing COVID-19 infections on Long Island, in NY State, and across the U.S., Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) will make COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for all Brookhaven Lab employees, consistent with President Biden's executive order released yesterday. This requirement, effective Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, will apply to all BSA employees working on site, those teleworking or working remotely, and all new hires.

 

We recognize that getting vaccinated has been a difficult decision for some people. We have heard from many staff wondering why we didn't make the vaccines a requirement as soon as they became available, and from others concerned that we would ever make them a requirement to work here. Now, given the overwhelming scientific evidence of the vaccines' safety and efficacy, the public health consequences of not getting vaccinated, and the federal guidance released yesterday, the choice has become clear: Everyone eligible must get vaccinated to protect ourselves and each other - and defeat this disease. Please do your part.

 

More details on implementation, including the applicability of the order to users, guests, and subcontractors, will be released in the coming days as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) develops its guidance. Also, we will be scheduling town hall meetings during the week of Sept. 20 to discuss the vaccination requirements and implementation details, and to address questions that you may have.

 

Employees with a legally recognized basis for an exception from the requirement - such as a medical condition that prevents them from receiving the vaccine - will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and if approved for an exception will be required to take part in a weekly testing program. Additional details on the weekly testing program will be communicated to staff in the next two weeks, along with updates to the attestation requirement announced on Sept. 3.

 

To be considered fully vaccinated, you must have received your final vaccine dose at least two weeks prior to Nov. 15 and had your status validated by OMC. If you are not currently vaccinated, you need to act quickly to begin the vaccination process so you can be fully vaccinated by the Nov. 15 deadline.

 

To find and schedule a vaccination, use the appointment tools listed at https://www.bnl.gov/COVID19/vaccine.php. Please keep in mind that when getting a COVID-19 vaccine shot during the workday, Brookhaven employees may use the COVID Vaccine Leave code "CVL" on their timecard, up to a maximum of four hours per shot. As you would for any medical appointment scheduled during the workday, please notify your supervisor of the date and time of your appointment and the time period you expect to be away.

 

In addition to vaccine leave for themselves, BSA employees may now also use the same CVL time code for up to four hours of administrative leave (per dose) for the actual time required to accompany a family member who is receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Finally, any employee experiencing side effects from the vaccine can now use up to 16 hours of administrative leave (total) to recover. Information on how to enter this time on your timecard will be posted on the Time Card Reporting Guidelines page (https://www.bnl.gov/COVID19/time-card-reporting.php) on the Resumption of Operations and Coronavirus Resources website.

 

If you have any questions about the vaccine, please contact OMC Manager Dr. Al Rielly at 631-344-3670 or arielly AT bnl.gov.

 

Employees should continue to report any COVID-19-like symptoms to the OMC at 631-344-3670, and please stay home if you don't feel well.

 

This continues to be an extremely challenging time for everyone. Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, on behalf of the Laboratory and its mission to help make the world a better place.

 

- Doon Gibbs

Laboratory Director

 

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  Brookhaven National Laboratory                www.bnl.gov

  Media & Communications Office        Phone: (631)344-3174

  Bldg. 400 - P.O. Box 5000              Fax: (631)344-3368

  Upton, NY 11973

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