COD’s administration released COVID-19 vaccination submission forms for COD faculty on Friday, Sept. 17. Still in the works are details for the testing procedure among other things, including consequences for failing to adhere to the new guideline for vaccination or testing. 

While the deadline for staff to turn in vaccination proof is Sept. 24, they’re still encouraged to have their information in before the governor’s deadline of Sept 19. The two-step process begins with an online form found in the employee portal at inside.cod.edu. After filling out the form, employees are required to submit a picture or scan of their vaccination card through email. The email must come from a COD email ([email protected]), and the file attached can be a PDF, JPEG, or TIFF file. 

For faculty who are not yet fully vaccinated but are planning to get vaccinated, the process will remain open after the deadline. Until fully vaccinated, faculty members 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 are also available for employees at inside.cod.edu> COVID-19 Employee Protocols and Information > Vaccine Requirements and will be sent via email. Medical exemption forms require medical provider approval to exempt an employee. Religious exemptions need to be stated on the form. General reluctance to the COVID-19 vaccine is not a sufficient basis for a religious exemption. If an employee is granted an exemption, either religious or medical, the employee is still required to adhere to the weekly testing protocol. 

According to College of DuPage Vice President  Jim Bente in a personal interview, student guidelines will be coming this week, but he was unable to give a specific date. However, Bente was confident that the system is ready to go and students should be getting the information shortly.

Testing procedures are still being finalized. While a specific COVID-19 test has not been picked out yet, Bente says the options are between a saliva and nasal test. The process will involve the testee signing a waiver before the test is administered, and both the testee and the school will be notified of test results simultaneously. Bente reasoned that due to the sheer amount of testing that is projected, it would be nearly impossible to manually match individuals with test results.

Though the school is not requiring vaccination for in-person activities and classes, Bente still put heavy  emphasis on getting vaccinated. 

“It is the best way to curtail transmission,” he said. “It does not mean you will not get COVID, but it is shown to reduce hospitalizations and reduce the severity of the disease. We just want to encourage people to get the vaccine.”