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Dear UAF students, staff and faculty,
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Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete the UAF COVID-19 vaccination voluntary attestation form. To date, over 400 employees and students have attested to their vaccination status. Knowing UAF vaccination rates will be helpful to our planning and management of campus operations in the coming semester. The data won’t be comprehensive, given that attestation is voluntary, but the more individuals who are willing to share their status, the better we will be able to plan the cadence of pop-up vaccination clinics and determine other ways we can encourage vaccination and support community health.
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Last week, President Pitney communicated a change in the UA system’s masking guidance. I followed that communication with a July 30 message regarding what this change means for UAF. Effective yesterday, Aug. 2, everyone is required to wear a face covering while in UAF-owned and -operated facilities unless you are working alone in your office with your door shut or are covered by one of the specific exemptions in the UAF face coverings policy. Face coverings are also required in university vehicles and outdoors when it’s not possible to maintain 6 feet of social distancing. Specific classes of exemptions are listed in policy. Please submit any additional face covering policy exception requests to Tracey Martinson, director of environmental health, safety and risk management and Operations Support Team lead, at tamartinson@alaska.edu.
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We continue to monitor CDC guidance, local conditions, and state and federal actions as well as our capacity to address COVID-19 on our campuses. Due to extremely limited health care facilities in Bethel and the communities they serve, vaccines will be required for any student who chooses to live in the residence hall at our Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel. We continue to consider adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccinations required for those students choosing to live in our residence halls on the Troth Yeddha’ Campus. We are also evaluating the need for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement in other units, including but not limited to our collegiate athletics program.
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Please resume masking, wash your hands frequently and continue to utilize other protective measures. If you need more cleaning supplies for your departments or units, you can order them through Facilities Services’ COVID-19 ordering form.
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