Dear Bereans,<\/p>\n
This is the\u00a0campus\u00a0update for\u00a0Monday,\u00a0December\u00a06, 2021.\u00a0\u00a0(See below for some interesting dates as we have just passed the two-year milestone of the first discovery of a patient suffering from what has come to be known as COVID-19.)<\/p>\n
Congratulations to all on reaching the end of the Fall 2021 Term, and good luck to all students with final exams and to all faculty with getting your grading done.\u00a0 Thanks as well to staff and labor supervisors for navigating through a term like no other!\u00a0 A special congratulations to the students who are completing all their degree requirements and will \u2018commence\u2019 on Saturday morning, the 11th<\/sup>.\u00a0 We cannot wait to celebrate you!<\/p>\n After this issue, the weekly campus updates will be on hiatus for Winter Break.\u00a0 You can expect the next regular update after the turn of the year, likely on Monday, Jan. 3.\u00a0 However, if there are urgent matters to share, an \u2018irregular\u2019 update is possible.\u00a0 Please watch your email over Break.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is much uncertainty regarding the progress of the pandemic in the US and in our region in the coming months.\u00a0 The Delta variant is still very much with us\u2014see below for details of its appearance on campus following Thanksgiving Break\u2014but we have managed to operate with reasonable safety and success in the context of the ongoing outbreak around us, particularly among unvaccinated persons.<\/p>\n With the emergence of the Omicron variant and its discovery now in a number of areas in our country, we are dealing new unknowns.\u00a0 Early indications are that it is more infectious than Delta, which means it may win out and become the dominant variant wherever it is introduced.\u00a0 Early concerns (arising from the large number of mutations this variant has on the spike protein, which is the avenue through which available vaccines target the virus, but uncertain in the absence of real epidemiological data) suggest that vaccinated persons may be less fully protected against Omicron.\u00a0 Finally, there is some data from South Africa suggesting that younger people are more susceptible to Omicron than they were to other variants.<\/p>\n Depending on how these unknowns are resolved, the Administrative Committee has been discussing possible responses.\u00a0 One that I want to alert everyone to at this point is the possibility that the academic calendar may be adjusted to eliminate Spring Break.\u00a0 This scenario envisions that we would start the semester a little later than scheduled, but end at the currently planned time, so that summer schedules are not affected.\u00a0 Should it be prudent to eliminate Spring Break and the temptation to travel, which leads to the likelihood of cases being brought back on campus, we will try to propose a schedule that has some shorter (e.g. long weekend) breaks built in to help sustain our individual and collective resiliency.<\/p>\n Hedging against the possibility that current vaccines may be compromised by Omicron, the vaccine developers are already developing booster that target the variant specifically.\u00a0 Moderna said last week that its version would be ready for submission to the FDA in March.\u00a0 Thus we may be contemplating decisions again about vaccines, boosters, and mandates.<\/p>\n ALL THAT SAID, PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS TOO SOON TO KNOW, WHAT MEASURES WILL BE PRUDENT. Indeed, it is still possible that there will be no changes to any aspects of our planned operations, but we wanted everyone to know what is on the table.<\/p>\n Five students in addition to the one mentioned last week have tested positive.\u00a0 Four have gone home to isolate and two are isolating on campus.\u00a0 None seem to have serious symptoms at this point.\u00a0 It appears that some of these cases originated off campus because of Thanksgiving travel, but it is possible that one or two were the result of on-campus transmissions, which would be a first for us.\u00a0 With this number of new cases we also have a rather large number of close contacts among students and staff.\u00a0 Fortunately, all of them are vaccinated and so only need to monitor for symptoms and get tested if symptoms appear.\u00a0 ALL OF THIS EXPERIENCE FOLLOWING THANKSGIVING IS A POTENT REMINDER OF THE PREVALENCE OF THE DELTA VARIANT IN MANY AREAS, INCLUDING OUR OWN, AND THE CRITICAL NEED FOR EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION DURING THE UPCOMING WINTER BREAK.\u00a0 <\/strong>The AC will be considering what measures will need to be taken for a safe resumption in January.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n As to on-campus employees, we have one new positive test (Athletics) in isolation and one case of a CDL staff member continuing from last week, although that person is not working on campus.\u00a0 Because of the student cases noted above, we have 11 employees who are monitoring for symptoms.\u00a0 We also have one close contact quarantine in the CDL.<\/p>\n In August of this year, the College opted to provide a one-time $250 vaccination stipend for those employees who became fully COVID-19 vaccinated. This opportunity will end after December 31st<\/sup>, 2021.\u00a0 We encourage all unvaccinated employees to get vaccinated; if you start the vaccination process prior to December 31st<\/sup> and confirm that to\u00a0HealthyatWork@berea.edu<\/a>, you are still eligible to receive this stipend when you complete it.\u00a0 \u00a0For those employees who have already been vaccinated but have not yet turned in documentation to\u00a0HealthyatWork@berea.edu<\/a>, you must do so by December 31st<\/sup>\u00a0to be eligible.<\/p>\nPossible<\/em><\/strong> adjustment to academic calendar for Spring 2022<\/h2>\n
Quarantine, testing and vaccination update<\/h2>\n
Announcement regarding the vaccination incentive for employees<\/h2>\n
Kentucky and Madison County update<\/h2>\n