SJSU’s Response to CSU’s Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
Sent: July 27, 2021
From: President Mary A. Papazian
Dear campus community,
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to evolve, the California State University (CSU) announced today that students, faculty and staff must be vaccinated by September 30 against COVID-19 if they are accessing campus facilities at any university location across the 23 campuses, regardless of FDA approval of the available vaccines approved for emergency use. Auxiliary employees as well as volunteers and other unpaid appointments are also subject to this policy. The CSU’s COVID-19 vaccination policy will allow medical and religious exemptions.
We will share the finalized policy and add additional FAQs to the Vaccination page once the policy is available. Full implementation of the policy and available actions that may be taken for non-compliance by represented employees is subject to completion of the meet and confer process, currently in progress with our union partners.
Today’s announcement overrides the CSU’s April announcement which indicated that implementation of the vaccination policy would be dependent upon full FDA approval of one of the vaccines.
Student verification of COVID-19 vaccination
Earlier this month, the Student Health Center notified students regarding the two step process to report and verify their COVID-19 vaccination. Students must complete both of the below steps by August 6, 2021, to meet full vaccination requirements by the start of the fall semester. You can request a religious exemption in step 1 and can request a medical exemption in step 2.
1. Students should report your vaccination status using the COVID-19 Vaccine Self-Certification form. You will be asked to certify your current vaccination status and, at this time, you can indicate if you qualify for a religious exemption. Students requesting a religious exemption can upload their supporting documentation as an attachment on the COVID-19 Vaccine Self-Certification form. Prior to submitting a religious exemption form, please convert the PDF into a .BMP, .JPG, .JPEG, .GIF, or .PNG type attachment. All other attachment types will not be accepted.
2. Submit verification on the Student Health Center Patient Portal. You will need to submit proof of your COVID-19 vaccination record. At this time, you can request a medical exemption. Proof can include a scanned/photocopy of your vaccine card or a record containing all of the following: full name, date of birth, manufacturer/brand of vaccine, vaccine lot number, administration date and site. Please ensure all information is visible and legible in English to prevent delays in verification.
Students who will be attending in person courses and are not fully vaccinated by the start of the fall semester on August 19 must adhere to policies in place for unvaccinated individuals — masks are required indoors at all times, when in a shared vehicle for a university-sponsored activity, conducting field research tasks requiring interactions, and when outdoors and it is not possible to maintain six feet of physical distance from others.
SJSU employee verification of COVID-19 vaccination
SJSU currently has an employee self-attestation process through the Vaccination Verification Program that was established earlier this month.
SJSU is finalizing plans for a required testing program for employees who have not indicated they are fully vaccinated. Details regarding the testing program will be shared once the meet and confer process with our union partners are completed and plans are finalized.
Vaccination reminders
As a reminder, SJSU has partnered with Santa Clara County to host pop up vaccination clinics on campus August 4 and August 25, 2021. The clinics will be located in the Student Health Center and are open to all faculty, staff and students from 12 - 7 p.m. The Pfizer-BioNTech (2-dose) and Johnson & Johnson (1-dose) vaccines will be available at these clinics. Registration is encouraged and appointments are available for August 4. Walk-ins are welcome.
We understand there will be many questions about the CSU’s updated policy. We will share the finalized policy once it is available and continue to keep you informed as new information becomes available.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mary A. Papazian
President
