Vaccine Update February 22, 2021
If you are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine you are encouraged to sign up on the Optumserve website or call for a telephone registration. You may also wish to seek out other vaccination options through local pharmacies or your local physician.
As you know, Reedley College became a vaccination site last week and the response has been tremendous. The likelihood of extra doses is very slim. In the event there are extra doses, you would need to be 20 minutes from the campus to receive the vaccine if you are called. Again, it is best to seek the options above.
The District is committed to working with our local health authorities as we continue to plan for the phased in return of additional face-to-face instruction and student services. As plans continue to evolve, we will continue to communicate with you. The number of people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine plays an integral part in this equation.
The benefits of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine include:
• All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be highly effective at preventing COVID-19. Learn more about the different COVID-19 vaccines.
• All COVID-19 vaccines that are in development are being carefully evaluated in clinical trials and will be authorized or approved only if they make it substantially less likely you’ll get COVID-19. Learn more about how federal partners are ensuring COVID-19 vaccines work.
• Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases and early data from clinical trials, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
• Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• Wearing masks and social distancing help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.
• The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
• Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the disease in communities, CDC will continue to update the recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.
We encourage all our employees to consider getting the vaccine and we support you in your efforts and willingness to do so. Once you receive an appointment for your vaccine, if it is during your normal work hours, please communicate your appointment time with your manager. Employees may take reasonable time off to get the vaccine. If an employee experiences side effects after receiving the vaccine, they may take leave for the rest of the day on the day their received the vaccine. If they are still experiencing side effects they may take up to one (1) additional day of leave the work day following receiving the vaccination. Employees who experience side effects and need to take leave, must complete an absence slip, mark “sick leave”, but write-in “COVID Vaccine”, so their sick leave is not charged. This additional leave that the District is providing to all employees only applies to the day the employee receives the vaccine and the next working day.
