Dear Campus Community:

Please review the updated policies below regarding COVID-related leave and changes to the available telecommuting options:

Expanded Leave Options:

Families First Coronavirus Response Act/American Rescue Plan Act:

• The extension to the FFCRA Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA expired on March 31, 2021. ARPA allows employers to voluntarily extend these paid leave options through September 30, 2021.
• This extension replenishes the amount of COVID-related leave offered to employees. Even if employees have used this leave previously, they may now be eligible for up to 80 hours of Emergency Sick Leave and up to 10 weeks of partially-paid Emergency FMLA.
• Additionally, Emergency FMLA is no longer offered only for employees with childcare issues due to COVID-19. This leave may now be requested for other situations related to COVID-19, such as extended illness or prolonged quarantine periods.
• Contact Human Resources with questions at 660-785-4031. More information about COVID-related leave and the required forms may be found HERE.

Employees affected by school and daycare closures:

• If not eligible for Emergency FMLA, employees who need to care for immediate family members due to closures or limits of schools or daycares may use up to 30 days of sick leave for that purpose.

Vaccinations:

• The extension of FFCRA/ARPA allows use of Emergency Sick Leave in order to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or in order to recover from any ill effects of receiving the vaccine.

Return To Campus:

• As a reminder, all employees should return to working on campus by May 10, 2021.
• Four-day work weeks for most departments will begin on May 10, 2021, and extend to July 30, 2021.
• Beginning May 10, telecommuting arrangements may only be requested by employees under the following circumstances: the employee has been directed to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19 or the employee has children unable to attend school or daycare due to COVID-19. All other faculty and staff are expected to work on campus, unless the employee was hired with a remote work arrangement.
• Employees requesting to work from home for the first time should complete the Telecommuting Request Form, available HERE. Supervisors should work with their employees to complete the form, including a detailed plan for a daily schedule and work assignments, and then submit the form to the appropriate member of the Executive Leadership Team or their designees for final approval. This plan also must be reviewed by Human Resources.

If you have questions, please contact Human Resources at 660-785-4031 or hrstaff@truman.edu.

Dear Campus Community:

Due to low employee enrollment, the COVID-19 vaccine clinic scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, was opened to include Truman students as well.

Any member of the Truman community still wishing to take advantage of this opportunity to receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine must complete the two steps below to be fully registered by noon today.

Hy-Vee will also have a limited number of Pfizer vaccine doses available on the day of the clinic. If employees prefer to receive that vaccine, please register for the clinic and indicate your preference to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the time of check-in on April 7.

To register:

1. All participants must complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Consent and Administration Record and return it to Human Resources, McClain Hall 101, no later than noon on Tuesday, April 6.
2. Truman students and employees are able to schedule a vaccine appointment with their Truman login here: http://eventmanager.truman.edu/generallist.asp?department=Human+Resources. Sodexo employees must contact the Human Resources office at 660-785-4031 or stop by McClain Hall 101 to register. Anyone needing assistance with registration should contact Human Resources.

Participants are not fully registered until both steps are completed.

Appointments will be available at 15-minute intervals throughout the day. All vaccine recipients will be required to wait a minimum of 15 minutes following vaccination to detect any immediate untoward reactions.

The vaccine is provided at no cost. Insurance will be billed and insurance information is REQUIRED on the Consent record. For any individual without insurance, a driver’s license or Social Security number is required. (This is a state requirement.) Regardless of insurance coverage, no vaccine recipient will be charged personally for the vaccine.

This is a great opportunity for a convenient vaccination on our campus. If interested, please schedule your appointment and complete the attached form as soon as possible.

Respectfully,
Brenda Higgins, Associate VP for Student Health & Wellness.

Dear Campus Community:

All higher education faculty and staff are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. We strongly encourage employees to take advantage of the on-campus event scheduled for Wednesday, April 7.

With widespread vaccine opportunity becoming available, all employees currently working remotely should return to in-person work by Monday, May 10. This coincides with our shift to the four-day summer work schedule for most departments.

The April 7 clinic is open to all University and Sodexo employees from 8 a.m.to 4 p.m. in Pershing Arena.

Hy-Vee Pharmacy will administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose to complete the vaccination. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the receipt of the vaccine. This should provide ample time for employees to be fully vaccinated and return to work on campus by May 10.

In order to take advantage of this opportunity, participants must complete two steps to be fully registered.

1. All participants must complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Consent and Administration Record and return it to Human Resources, McClain Hall 101, no later than noon on Friday, April 2.
2. Truman employees are able to schedule a vaccine appointment with their Truman login here: http://eventmanager.truman.edu/generallist.asp?department=Human+Resources. Sodexo employees must contact the Human Resources office at 660-785-4031 or stop by McClain Hall 101 to register. Anyone having trouble registering may contact Human Resources for assistance.

Participants are not fully registered until both steps are completed.

Appointments will be available at 15-minute intervals throughout the day. All vaccine recipients will be required to wait a minimum of 15 minutes following vaccination to detect any immediate untoward reactions.

The vaccine is provided at no cost. Insurance will be billed and insurance information is REQUIRED on the Consent record. For any individual without insurance, a driver’s license or Social Security number is required. (This is a state requirement.) Regardless of insurance coverage, no vaccine recipient will be charged personally for the vaccine.

Human Resources
Truman State University
McClain Hall 101
100 E. Normal Avenue
Kirksville, MO 63501
(660) 785-4031
hrstaff@truman.edu
www.truman.edu

Dear Truman Community,

We again have 7 active student cases, the same as last week, and 1 active faculty/staff case, which means that we did a pretty good job of handling Spring Break. Of course, some students will be going home for Easter, so please continue to be careful and make smart choices, since we still worry about spread from travel.

A six minute video summarizes this week’s numbers and upcoming news:

https://zoom.us/rec/play/76stxi-MEhvoZUQFAvsea92JJ3o1hL85uW6iGwXZuiMHBNm1230xq-BCeElGvbl_m1JTBePP4IVtZ1Jn.QZIguK0xc4M18mOb?autoplay=true

Missouri is currently in phase 2, so Truman faculty and staff are eligible for the vaccine, and phase 3 starts next Friday, April 9, expanding eligibility to everyone age 16 and older. Local providers will start opening up their sign-up lists, andwe expect more mass vaccination events in the region. Truman is hoping to host some clinics soon after, with the goal of making vaccines available to the entire Truman community before we leave for the summer. Details are still being worked out, so watch for an announcement about that soon.

A survey was sent out to all students yesterday, asking them about their vaccine plans and worries. Please encourage students to complete the survey this week, so that we can better understand what we should be working on.

Even with all the good news, we still continue to recommend that you follow the same guidelines we’ve been talking about:  wear a mask, keep distance, and all the rest. With the weather improving, more things can be outside, and that improved ventilation is great.

The local election is next Tuesday, April 6^th, including a race for the county health board, so we encourage eligible voters to learn about the candidates and vote.

==

Although we aim these e-mails and videos at Truman faculty and staff, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via Blackboard page, sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page:

https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/

If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu

-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics

Dear Truman Community,

We again have 7 active student cases, the same as last week, and 1 active faculty/staff case, which means that we did a pretty good job of handling Spring Break. Of course, some students will be going home for Easter, so please continue to be careful and make smart choices, since we still worry about spread from travel.

A six minute video summarizes this week’s numbers and upcoming news:

https://zoom.us/rec/play/76stxi-MEhvoZUQFAvsea92JJ3o1hL85uW6iGwXZuiMHBNm1230xq-BCeElGvbl_m1JTBePP4IVtZ1Jn.QZIguK0xc4M18mOb?autoplay=true

Missouri is currently in phase 2, so Truman faculty and staff are eligible for the vaccine, and phase 3 starts next Friday, April 9, expanding eligibility to everyone age 16 and older. Local providers will start opening up their sign-up lists, andwe expect more mass vaccination events in the region. Truman is hoping to host some clinics soon after, with the goal of making vaccines available to the entire Truman community before we leave for the summer. Details are still being worked out, so watch for an announcement about that soon.

A survey was sent out to all students yesterday, asking them about their vaccine plans and worries. Please encourage students to complete the survey this week, so that we can better understand what we should be working on.

Even with all the good news, we still continue to recommend that you follow the same guidelines we’ve been talking about:  wear a mask, keep distance, and all the rest. With the weather improving, more things can be outside, and that improved ventilation is great.

The local election is next Tuesday, April 6^th, including a race for the county health board, so we encourage eligible voters to learn about the candidates and vote.

Although we aim these e-mails and videos at Truman faculty and staff, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via Blackboard page, sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page:

https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/

If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu

-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics

	Active Cases in Isolation		Recovered Cases
Week	Student	Fac/Staff	Total
Jan 5	1	1	312
Jan 12	18	1	320
Jan 19	11	0	344
Jan 26	21	3	362
Feb 2	47	5	381
Feb 9	36	5	419
Feb 16	15	0	461
Feb 23	14	0	471
Mar 2	6	0	484

Dear Campus Community:

A COVID-19 vaccination clinic for Truman employees and Sodexo employees will be held on campus next Wednesday, April 7, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Pershing Arena.

Hy-Vee Pharmacy will administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose to complete the vaccination. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the receipt of the vaccine.

In order to take advantage of this opportunity, participants must complete two steps to be fully registered.

1. All participants must complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Consent and Administration Record and return it to Human Resources, McClain Hall 101, no later than noon on Friday, April 2.
2. Truman employees are able to schedule a vaccine appointment with their Truman login here: http://eventmanager.truman.edu/generallist.asp?department=Human+Resources. Sodexo employees must contact the Human Resources office at 660-785-4031 or stop by McClain Hall 101 to register.

Participants are not fully registered until both steps are completed.

Appointments will be available at 15-minute intervals throughout the day. All vaccine recipients will be required to wait a minimum of 15 minutes following vaccination to detect any immediate untoward reactions.

The vaccine is provided at no cost. Insurance will be billed and insurance information is REQUIRED on the Consent record. For any individual without insurance, a driver’s license or Social Security number is required. (This is a state requirement.) Regardless of insurance coverage, no vaccine recipient will be charged personally for the vaccine.

This clinic is for Truman and Sodexo employees only. Four hundred doses are expected to be available on a first-registered basis. A clinic is anticipated for students the following week.

This is a great opportunity for a convenient one-dose vaccination on our campus. If interested, please schedule your appointment and complete the attached form as soon as possible.

Respectfully,
Brenda Higgins, Associate VP for Student Health & Wellness

Dear Campus Community:

The Northeast Missouri Health Council is hosting a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, March 26, at Northeast Family Health on Crown Drive. The clinic will administer the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

While the clinic is aimed at NMHC patients, anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine may participate. Registration is required here: https://bit.ly/2Nh5Akm.

Questions about eligibility may be directed to info@nmhcinc.org.

Dear Truman Community,

We have 7 active cases this week, which is still good news, although we still think we might see some cases that resulted from Spring Break. Testing is readily available in town (and on-campus for students), so if you aren’t sure if you cough is due to allergies, a spring cold, or COVID-19, please get tested.

There was some confusion in the news this week about a CDC study about the efficacy of mask mandates. The study showed that there was a 1-2% improvement in cases every 20 days with a mandate. While that sounds small, over a couple of months, that improvement builds, and with exponential growth, even small changes at the beginning can have a huge effect over time. You can read a summary (and the full study here):

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7010e3.htm?s_cid=mm7010e3_w

The local health board is considering lifting the county-wide mask mandate at its April meeting, which has us a bit worried. It’s our opinion that May or June is probably the soonest to really think about that, when vaccines have reached full effectiveness for those in phase 3. If you feel strongly about the mandate, you could contact the health department using the form or emails listed at: https://adair.lphamo.org/contact/

Related to that, the election for the county health board is April 6, so if you’re a local voter, we recommend you research the candidates and vote.

The state is opening up vaccines to phase 2 (which includes Truman faculty and staff) next week, and is moving to phase 3 (which includes anyone age 16 and older) on April 12. While many of us have been able to get in early through the various waitlists, we are very excited about the expansion of vaccine eligibility. We still recommend putting yourself on the various waitlists, since we don’t know how quickly the rollout and increased availability will begin. Truman is in the early stages of organizing some vaccine events on campus once we reach phase 3, assuming we can get the doses we need, so look for more information about that soon.

Later this week, Truman is conducting a student survey to ask about vaccine interest and concerns, so please encourage students to complete that when they get an invitation in their e-mail.

Our video is a bit longer this week (13m), but it delves into the mask data in more depth.

https://zoom.us/rec/share/SURZVXnckRN3I7-IKGgOVv3rDJOAgCnYoL-OJK2Y3GBvcO1JHVGyqTa3BAN3EUsP.gWnTQgDb2NiekbkZ

==

Although we aim these e-mails and videos at Truman faculty and staff, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via Blackboard page, sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page:

https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/

If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu

-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics

Dear Truman Community,

There’s no getting around that zero active cases on campus is a good number to see. While it might be a fluke of Spring Break, with fewer folks around and decreased testing on campus, we’ll take it, especially given the increased hope we’ve seen from the high numbers of people getting the vaccine and the potential for a speedier rollout than we had feared.

The vaccine distribution system is still imperfect, with our part of the state receiving more doses than our share, and the decentralized sign-up system that means that you need to call multiple places to try to get a vaccine or onto a waitlist or “dump list.” Still, we recommend you do just that, since we’d hate for any cases to be wasted, and we worry that the additional doses being (properly) sent to Missouri’s population centers may mean that we’ll soon not have nearly as many doses as we do right now.

We also worry that this good news may lead people to over-relax. Please do keep wearing your mask, washing your hands, maintaining distance, and the other layers. The CDC gave out some hopeful new guidance for those who have been vaccinated, but we know that most of us have not yet been.

We have heard that the county health department and others are considering lifting the local mask mandate now, rather than waiting until more of us have been vaccinated. If that’s important to you, consider contacting the county board or city officials, since it sounds like the discussions have already started. Truman will keep its mask mandate through the summer, to be sure, but we know that our Truman community intersects deeply with our Kirksville community.

A five-minute video shows us talking about whether zero cases are real, vaccine distribution, and a worry that the county may end its local mask mandate.

Although we aim these videos and sheets for faculty and staff, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via Blackboard page, sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page:

https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/

If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu

-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics

Dear Campus Community,

The number of cases has continued to drop this week, down to 6 active student cases.

Although this is great news, Spring Break still has us worried, especially with continued spread of the new COVID variants, so please do make and follow a plan for how to keep you and your family and friends safe, if you decide to travel. The weather looks great in most places (including Kirksville), so maybe outside things will give some additional options.

The vaccine logistics continue to be problematic state-wide, with some areas of Missouri having too few doses while others having surplus doses, including some wasted. At a personal-level, we continue to recommend that you get the vaccine as soon as you are able. While it seems like cheating to travel to an area that has surplus doses, or to get on waiting lists at a vaccine distribution site, the state guidelines recognize that it is better for these to not go to waste.

The approval of more vaccines, including the one-dose varieties, and announcements about increased supply and improved logistics at the state and federal level, has us hopeful that things will get better, and the idea that everyone eighteen or older can have access to the vaccine by May would be incredible.

A six-minute video shows us thinking about the numbers and the vaccine situation.

==
Although we aim these videos and sheets for faculty and staff, please do share this information or the video with students in your classes, with parents, and elsewhere. This information is shared with all students via Blackboard page, sent directly to all Truman faculty and staff, and shared on our public web page:
https://www.truman.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-working-group-videos/

If you have questions or topics you’d like to know more about, please contact us at: ndmoore@truman.edu

-Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group
Nancy Daley-Moore, PhD, Health Science
Christine Harker, PhD, English
Scott Alberts, PhD, Statistics