Dear Members of the TC Community:

I am writing today to call your attention to important, updated information on vaccination eligibility, access and distribution.

Expanded Vaccine Eligibility
As you may know, last week New York State announced expanded vaccination eligibility guidelines: Residents 60 and older are now eligible for vaccination, along with previously eligible individuals with specified underlying medical conditions. “Essential in-person staff” at Colleges are also now eligible for vaccination, in addition to previously eligible in-person faculty. Faculty, staff and students can check their eligibility by visiting New York State’s Am I Eligible web tool, or by calling the New York State hotline at 1-833-697-4829.

Increased Vaccine Access and Distribution
All eligible Columbia University and Columbia University-affiliated faculty, staff and students can now be vaccinated at any of the New York City or New York State public vaccination sites or at the Fort Washington Armory. Appointments are required for all vaccinations, and scheduling information is available at the VaccineTogetherNY website.

Meanwhile, Columbia University is developing plans to administer vaccinations at no cost by the end of the month at four university-operated sites in Manhattan to CU and CU-affiliated faculty, staff, and students who meet New York State eligibility criteria. Those four sites are: 630 West 168th Street; 2702 Broadway; 2920 Broadway (Lerner Hall); and 51 West 51st Street. Columbia plans to open additional vaccination sites later in the spring in an effort to meet demand. We will provide additional information on these plans as soon as they become available.

New Paid Leave for COVID-19 Vaccination
Last week, New York State passed legislation granting employees time off to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Under this new law, public and private employees will be granted up to four hours of excused leave per shot that will not be charged against any other leave the employee has earned or accrued. Employers must pay employees their “regular rate of pay” for the time off. This legislation takes effect immediately and will expire on December 31, 2022. Teachers College staff should work with their managers if they plan to get vaccinated during the workday.

Continued Health and Safety Guidelines
The acceleration of vaccine production and daily inoculations is very good news. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that many in our TC community will not be eligible to receive their shots until later this spring. Please also bear in mind that it takes a few weeks for individuals to build immunity after vaccination. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the final dose of the vaccine they receive.

Additionally, while national and many regional case rates have been declining as vaccination has accelerated, it remains unclear what effect new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 will have. In New York City, two variants may now account for 50% of daily cases.

For all of these reasons, it is imperative for all members of the TC community, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue observing all of our health and safety guidelines and protocols. This includes everyone on campus continuing to get tested and to observe guidelines for facial covering, physical distancing, and hand washing.

As a reminder, information and links to the resources outlined above, including guidelines for New York City and State, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, are available in our COVID-19 vaccination information section on the TC Preparedness site.

In closing: As President Bailey referenced in his communication last Friday, it continues to be critical that we take care of ourselves and look out for one another. In addition to planning for vacation days in the coming months, I hope that everyone will benefit from an extension of Summer Fridays this year, beginning on May 7, as well as a few additional days off in July.

Sincerely,

Lisa Seales
Vice President for Administration