Updated Status on Restoration of Laboratory On-Site Activities

The following is a summary of the notice sent out by Dr. Joseph J. Pancrazio, Vice President for Research, regarding the updated guidelines to carrying out on-site laboratory activities. See the attached complete memo. _________________________________________________________________________________ As you may have recently learned, the CDC has released revised public health recommendations for fully-vaccinated (FV) individuals and the University has chosen to immediately follow this guidance.

CDC Guidance for fully-vaccinated individuals: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html

Of course, the news is most welcome, based on scientific evidence, and events necessitate an update from the Office of Research.

Effective immediately:

• All COVID-19 safety restrictions are lifted for FV persons engaging in on-site laboratory research. FV students and staff can interact indoors with neither face coverings nor social distancing.

• FV students and staff may also occupy adjacent carrels. Individuals can eat at their desks and common kitchen areas.

• Occupancy of conference rooms for group meetings is restored to 100% and will only be subject to the posted fire marshal limitations.

• Use of the reservation system for laboratory staff scheduling is no longer necessary.

Important Note:

• Unvaccinated individuals should continue to wear face coverings and engage in social distancing in research buildings.

Faculty PIs: please continue to encourage laboratory staff and students to get vaccinated either by booking an appointment through UT Southwestern’s vaccine registration portal or with another vaccine provider. Please encourage one and all to register their vaccination status through the UT Dallas voluntary vaccine reporting tool: https://veoci.com/v/p/form/kb42phdb6sct

Laboratory Personnel Updated - May 14 20.

Download • 131KB