Staying Strong Updates: Vaccination Requirement Reminders

As a reminder, Meredith College is requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for all employees beginning January 3, 2022. This requirement was announced on September 16, 2021.

Employees can take the two-shot Pfizer vaccine, the two-shot Moderna vaccine, or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Taking any of those vaccines will satisfy the Meredith COVID-19 vaccination requirement. If you take the Pfizer vaccine, you must allow three weeks between the first and second doses. If you take the Moderna vaccine, you must allow four weeks between the first and second doses. In order to be considered fully vaccinated, you need to allow two weeks beyond the last shot in your series (after the single shot for Johnson & Johnson; after the second shot for Pfizer or Moderna).

Employees are asked to complete their vaccination series before Meredith’s winter break begins on December 17, 2021, to allow the two weeks beyond the last shot in order to be considered fully vaccinated.

All employees will be required to either be fully vaccinated and to have provided proof of vaccination or have an approved medical or religious exemption. 

Proof of vaccination must be uploaded to the portal before returning to campus on January 3, 2022. The proof of vaccination portal will not be monitored between December 17, 2021-January 3, 2022.

If you have already submitted proof of vaccination, there’s nothing else you need to do at this time.

The portal to submit a request for a religious or medical exemption is now open. The exemption requests must be filled out completely and submitted to the portal: https://cvdsubmit.meredith.edu. Additional documentation, beyond what is required on the form, will not be considered as part of the review. Forms that have been altered will not be considered.

Exemption requests will be considered anonymously, without the reviewers knowing the name of the person submitting the information. To protect this process, please do not submit a request via email. 

The deadline to submit an exemption request has been extended to November 15, 2021, to allow more time for an individual to submit an exemption request. Once an individual’s request form has been accepted for review, it cannot be amended or re-submitted. The decision of the review committee is final.

Additional details about the COVID-19 vaccination requirement are available at meredith.edu/staying-strong/vaccine-information. 

Vaccine Locator
If you have not yet been vaccinated, please note that the process of becoming fully vaccinated takes up to six weeks, depending on the vaccine you receive.  If you need help finding a vaccine, the North Carolina Vaccine Locator includes a list of both government and private vaccine location sites throughout the state. 

Third Dose/“Booster” Eligibility
The CDC has authorized a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for individuals over age 65 and for people 18-65 who are immunocompromised or who live or work in higher-risk settings. Because you work on a residential campus, college employees who received their Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago qualify for a third dose under this authorization. However, a third dose is not required for Meredith employees at this time. For more information, visit the NC DHHS booster information page.