COVID-19

We Commit

As a member of the MGH Institute Health Professions community, you Commit to do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19 in all aspects of your life – personal, professional, and societal.

Institute-provided masks are required by students, faculty, staff, clients, and research participants in the Sanders IMPACT Practice Center, instructional and simulation labs and research data capture areas.

Please continue to complete the COVID PASS prior to arrival on campus or at any MGB site. It provides an easy-to-use dashboard where you can complete your daily attestation, schedule COVID-19 testing, add/remove Epic consent, access the return to work portal, and view vaccine records/ notifications.

Vaccinations - Updated January 2023

Students

All Institute students in academic programs scheduled to be on campus are required to submit their proof of COVID-19 vaccination into their Complio account. In addition, students are required to receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. For guidance on how to populate your Complio account, visit the IHP’s Immunization and Certification page.

Students in need of a COVID-19 vaccine/booster can utilize:

MGB COVID Pass: After completing a daily asymptomatic attestation survey through COVID Pass, students can proceed with scheduling their appointment at an MGB affiliated location.
Mass.gov: Students can use the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Finder to find a convenient vaccination location.

Noncompliant students will:

Lose access to D2L (learning management system),
Not be able to participate in clinical placements, and
Not be able to attend class on campus.

Faculty/Staff

Vaccines are required of all employees unless you have a religious or medical exemption. In addition, faculty and staff are required to receive their booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. If you have questions about the vaccine or want to discuss your vaccine concerns, MGB has developed guidance to help answer questions.

The IHP community can schedule COVID-19 Testing (symptomatic and asymptomatic), as well as COVID-19 vaccination booster doses, through the COVID Pass app and Patient Gateway. Employees who need to submit vaccine documentation to meet compliance OR wish to submit COVID-19 Booster Documentation received at a non-MGB institution can PHSOHSCOVID19 [at] partners.org (email proof) of vaccination to Occupational Health System Services.

Whether you were vaccinated at a Mass General Brigham site or elsewhere, you must submit attestation or documentation. All new hires must receive vaccination clearance to work from MGH Occupational Health, which includes validation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The quickest, easiest way to get a COVID-19 booster shot is in your local community; many sites, including CVS and Walgreens, offer free booster shots. You can search vaccines.gov to find a location near you. You can also text your zip code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find a location. Mass General Brigham is also offering booster shots to employees who are eligible per the CDC’s recommendation. Eligible employees may schedule their booster shot appointment at a Mass General Brigham location via COVID Pass.

Exemption Request Process

Medical exemption: those who seek a medical exemption due to medical contraindications (e.g., a previous severe or immediate allergic reaction to a vaccine or the components of a COVID-19) must complete an exemption form and provide documentation from a qualified health care provider that will be subject to review by Occupational Health.
Religious exemption: those who seek a religious exemption due to sincerely held religious beliefs must complete an exemption form that will be subject to review by Human Resources. Documentation may be required. jkreisel [at] mghihp.edu (Email Joanna Kreisel) for guidance on this process.

Requiring vaccination as a condition of employment has been demonstrated to be necessary to achieve the highest levels of workforce vaccination and increase safety for all workforce members, patients, and visitors to health care settings.

Arriving to Campus

Campus entry process for faculty, staff, and students:

All members of the IHP Community are required to complete daily asymptomatic attestation through COVID Pass.
Ensuring Compliance:
- Faculty and staff logging into their MGB-issued computers will be prompted to complete their COVID Pass if they have not already done so.
- Students will be part of a weekly compliance audit. Students who were scheduled to be on campus for the previous week but did not complete their COVID Pass attestation will receive a notification. Additionally, their academic program will be notified of their noncompliance.

All Visitors to Campus must check in at one of the security desks where they will complete an attestation form.

While on Campus

Vaccinated students, faculty, and staff are not required to wear IHP-provided masks in classrooms.
Unvaccinated individuals should be masked while on campus and maintain social distance while eating and drinking. Institute-provided masks are required and will continue to be available at all check-in stations.
Institute-provided masks will be required by students, faculty, staff, clients, and research participants in the Sanders IMPACT Practice Center, including standardized patient scenarios and research data capture areas, as well as skills and simulation labs and practical exams.

Masks will continue to be required when:

Riding on Mass General Brigham shuttle buses and public transportation.
Entering all clinical areas within the MGB system and other health care settings.
Local communities maintain the masking requirement.

Keep in mind, some members of our community may make the personal choice to continue to wear a mask and maintain social distance. We will respect these personal decisions. Just because someone is masked does not mean they are not vaccinated.

COVID Exposure and What to do About It

Exposure is defined as ≥15 cumulative minutes of face-to-face contact, within 6 feet of a confirmed or presumed case of COVID-19 (starting from 2 calendar days prior to symptom onset or, in setting of asymptomatic infection, starting 2 calendar days prior to test collection).

The risk associated with any exposure can be mitigated based on whether the COVID-19 source has source control (wearing a surgical or procedural mask) and what kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn by the exposed person (none, surgical or procedural mask alone, surgical or procedural mask + eye protection, etc.).

COVID-19 Symptoms:

Fever
New cough (not related to a chronic condition)
Sore throat
Shortness of breath
Muscle aches
New nasal congestion or new runny nose (not related to seasonal allergies)
Loss of smell or taste

Students

For a confirmed exposure, or if you are experiencing symptoms:

Notify your academic advisor or member of your program staff
Contact MGH Occupational Health Services (OHS) at 617-726-2217; when prompted, press option #3
- Identify yourself as an IHP student
- MGH OHS will assess your symptoms and/or possible exposure status to advise you on next steps.

If you test positive:

You can return to school/work earlier than the standard 10-day isolation period using at-home antigen testing no sooner than 5 days after your positive test collection date, or onset of symptoms, whichever is later. Once you meet the Return to Work criteria, you may return to on-site work without calling Occupational Health Services.

Faculty/Staff

For a confirmed exposure, or if you are experiencing symptoms:

Notify your manager
Get a COVID-19 test
Follow MGB guidance based on the type of test and result.

If you test positive:

You can return to school/work earlier than the standard 10-day isolation period using at-home antigen testing no sooner than 5 days after your positive test collection date, or onset of symptoms, whichever is later. You must attest to your negative antigen test result.

Clients

I am symptomatic

Clients may return to in-person services in the IPC following:

Resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and consistent improvement of COVID-related symptoms or return to previous baseline

and

For non-immunocompromised clients: at least 10 days since known exposure or symptoms first appeared
For severely immunocompromised clients: at least 20 days since known exposure or symptoms first appeared

I am asymptomatic

Clients may return to in-person services in the IPC following:

For non-immunocompromised clients: at least 10 days since positive test or known exposure
For severely immunocompromised clients: at least 20 days since positive test or known exposure

and

No intervening illness. (If you have an intervening illness, manage as symptomatic, as above.)

I am a child attending school and may be a close contact

Clients whose school is closed due to a COVID-19 “outbreak” may come onsite if they meet the following criteria:

The client remains asymptomatic and
They are not required by the school to quarantine due to a direct exposure to a COVID-positive individual at their school.

Travel

The IHP is following MGB policy as it relates to employee travel. You can find the full policy on Pulse.

Work-related travel outside of state of employee work or residence (domestic and international) is permitted for employees who are fully vaccinated at the time of travel. It is prohibited for employees who are not fully vaccinated. This prohibition includes in-person attendance at educational and academic conferences.

Personal travel is at the discretion of the employee. Employees should adhere to public health guidance when traveling.