In an email to employees on Tuesday morning, Vice President for University Affairs and Chief of Staff Alicia Estey reiterated Boise State’s plan to follow the executive order given by President Biden requiring all federal employees to be vaccinated.
According to the email, all university employees including faculty, staff and student employees must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, meaning one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines must be completed. All employees must submit proof of vaccination or an exemption request by Jan. 4.
Employees can fill out an exemption request form for medical or religious exemptions. The email said, “Employees with approved exemptions will be required to follow enhanced masking and distancing protocols.”
The university plans to continue following Biden’s vaccine mandate “barring an order from the court suspending the [executive order],” although the Idaho State Board of Education (SBE) is part of the lawsuit challenging the executive order.
The university is currently “finalizing a process” that would allow employees the ability to confirm their vaccination status through the state’s immunization database or show their vaccine record to public health staff.
University Affairs and Human Resources will be hosting “virtual town hall meetings” in the next two weeks to answer questions, and a follow-up is set to be sent out on Dec. 6 with additional information and links to the exemption forms.
The Arbiter will continue to report on this topic as more information becomes available.
Photo courtesy of Robyn Beck
