Breaking News: COD Sets Oct. 1 Deadline for Students to Get Vaccinated

Bee Bishop, Staff Writer

COD’s administration released COVID-19 vaccination verification procedures for COD students late Tuesday afternoon. However, information about testing for students who decide not to get vaccinated or what happens when students refuse both vaccination and testing is still unknown.

Per Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order, COD students attending or who plan to attend in-person or hybrid classes must get fully vaccinated or adhere to weekly testing.

The deadline for submitting proof of vaccination is Oct. 1. To access the necessary form, students can go to inside.cod.edu, click on the link for myACCESS for students, find the Miscellaneous header then click on the Submit My Vax Info link. After filling out the required information, students will receive an email that their submission was received. After filling out the form, students are required to submit a picture or scan of their vaccination card through email to ​​[email protected]. The email must come from a COD student email ([email protected]) or the submission will not be processed. The student will then receive a second email confirmation that their submission was received.

Students who are not fully vaccinated but are planning to get vaccinated must receive their first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Oct. 1. Until fully vaccinated, students must adhere to weekly testing. An individual is considered fully vaccinated after two weeks have passed since either the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Medical and religious exemption forms for students can be found at inside.cod.edu> myACCESS for students > Student forms under the Miscellaneous header, and after completion will be sent via email. Medical exemption forms require a medical provider’s approval to exempt a student. Religious exemptions need to be stated on the form. General reluctance to the COVID-19 vaccine is not sufficient for a religious exemption, according to the procedures released Tuesday. If a student is granted an exemption, either religious or medical, the student must still adhere to weekly testing. Students will receive instructions for how to comply with testing requirements at a later date. Note that requests may be re-evaluated at any time. 

In a personal interview last week, COD Vice President Jim Bente said there is currently no plan to reprimand individuals that fail to meet these requirements. Additionally, testing procedures are still underway, with details coming soon.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated once more information has been released. More information about the exemption process can be found at https://www.cod.edu/coronavirus/vaccine-exemption.aspx?utm_campaign=Retention%20Fall%202021%20Current%20Students&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=162117079&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–AlqJcUtDUAtWDUFUhLAEKmcO6rcj0s3v1I4a0-dHfPKI-fSqgbljPVUvIM3WX2zPh7sqWqFP57ruWpp6H5OMnPEYcxg&utm_content=162117079&utm_source=hs_email.