Following a standard review of quality, safety, and effectiveness, on Monday, August 23, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval of the COVID-19 vaccine distributed by Pfizer-BioNTech for individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA) to individuals age 12-15 and for the administration of a third dose in immunocompromised individuals.
In response to the full approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, YKHC’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing policy and procedure have been updated, effective August 23. As outlined in the previous vaccination procedure and messaging related to the policy, upon full FDA licensure, similar to YKHC’s current seasonal flu vaccine policy, all employees will be required to become fully vaccinated under this policy unless a limited medical or religious objection exemption applies.
What was updated?
As a result of full vaccine licensure, employees are no longer eligible to opt for a temporary exception to vaccination through twice-weekly testing, outside of the rare circumstances where an employee may have a medical contraindication or a sincerely held religious objection to COVID-19 vaccination.
According to YKHC’s COVID-19 vaccination procedure, employees without proof of receipt of the first dose of vaccination on or before September 10, 2021, will be considered as “voluntarily separated” from employment unless (1) they are affected by an unanticipated scarcity of the COVID-19 vaccine or (2) they receive approval of an exemption.
The deadline for requests for Medical Declination or Religious Objection to be submitted to Employee Health were closed on Monday, August 30, 2021.
Employees who begin the two-dose series of COVID-19 vaccination under the revised policy will have one business day to provide Employee Health with proof of vaccination.
How to come into compliance
Employees had until Friday, August 27, to come into compliance with the policy by completing the COVID-19 Employee Vaccination and/or Testing Requirements form. Completion of this form indicates your vaccination status and allows you to either submit proof of vaccination status to Employee Health or grant YKHC permission to verify your status based on your medical record. Failure to submit the required form by this deadline may result in initiation of written and final warnings.
Have issue with the above link to the online form?
Copy and paste the following link into your web browser: https://yukonkuskokwimhealthcorp.results.highbond.com/survey_responses/8G-Gxyqtx3UUKLJ5giwW/edit
Employees who have difficulty with the online form or who do not have access to a computer must complete a PDF version of the form, found HERE on Policy Manager, and submit the completed form to Employee Health.
Have questions about this policy, procedure, or status of a previous form submission?
Reach out to your manager or Employee Health.