April 30 2021 | CRT Update April 30, 2021 Dear RVU Family: Nationally, COVID-19 cases have risen 1.80% from last week. Reported positive cases in Colorado have increased 1.30% over last week and cases in Utah are up .56%. While more people are becoming vaccinated, we are not out of the woods yet, so please remember to continue to take precautions as appropriate. The sooner more people are vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to “normal!” Vaccines Nationwide 43% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 27% have been fully vaccinated. At RVU we are hearing about entire departments whose team members are all fully vaccinated or close to it. This week, kudos go to the facilities team led by Gary Pippin. All of Gary’s team has received their first vaccine and all but 2 team members are fully vaccinated – both are scheduled to receive their second vaccine next week. Proof of Vaccine for Employees: Sooner rather than later, to prepare for our July 1 vaccine requirement, employees may now upload their proof of vaccine on the iNet: Log in to the iNet, go to Faculty and Staff tab, then Forms.  Complete the […]

April 23 2021 | CRT Update April 23, 2021 Dear RVU Family: While COVID-19 cases have increased 1.81% nationally from last week, Colorado and Utah have done better with increases of 1.32% and .56% respectively.  Compared with the highest peak on January 11, 2021, the current 7-day average decreased 72.2% nationwide. In our local markets, Washington County Utah has experienced a 46% decline in the number of hospitalized Covid patients in the past 14 days. Douglas County, CO, however, has seen a 21% increase in hospitalized Covid patients over the past 14 days. Vaccine Update: As of yesterday, 41% of the US population has received the first dose of the vaccine; 24.5% has had the 2nd dose administered. While the number of people vaccinated is increasing, the CDC stresses the importance of continuing to wear a mask and observe safety protocol. Vaccine Clinic Update: CO: Please visit the RVHC at www.rockyvistahc.com to schedule an appointment. If no appointments are posted, continue to check back as appointments are added once the health center is advised on how many doses of the vaccine will be received each week. UT:  The Utah Vaccine Clinic has administered 110 doses of Moderna vaccine in the […]

April 16, 2021 | CRT Update April 16, 2021 Dear RVU Family: Positive COVID-19 cases have increased 1.82% nationally from last week. Colorado has experienced an increase of 1.34% and Utah has increased .56%. Hopefully, we will continue to see a downward trend as more people become vaccinated. Vaccine Update: As of April 13th, 36% of the US population has been vaccinated.   The exact percent required to achieve herd immunity is not known but most experts believe it is much higher than the current amount of people immunized against SARS-CoV-2.   Some people remain hesitant to be vaccinated, despite millions of doses administered to date, with safety data supporting these vaccines as both safe and effective.   Vaccine “pauses”, such as we are seeing this week with the Janssen/J&J vaccine, are done under an abundance of caution.   It often takes millions of doses of vaccine before rare complications such as the 6 cerebral venous sinus clots with associated low platelets are revealed.  These rare complications occur at a rate of less than one in a million and are currently under investigation.   Data comparing these rare events to the expected number of similar events in non-vaccinated people is underway, in an effort to […]

April 9, 2021 | CRT Update April 09, 2021 Dear RVU Family, Thank you to those of you who joined us Monday for the COVID-19 Response Team Town Hall. If you were unable to join us or wish to view the presentation again, the recording can be accessed by clicking here. The PowerPoint file is also attached. As a reminder, RVU will be implementing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all employees and students.  The effective dates for vaccine requirement are as follows: COM: OMS I – Class of 2025 – June 7 COM: OMS II – Class of 2024 – July 1 COM: Clinical – Class of 2022/2023 – June 18 MSBS: Matriculating Students – July 15 PA: PA I (Incoming this fall) – Class of 2023 – August 16 PA: PA II and III – CLass of 2022/2023 – May 14 Employees: July 1 Below are the responses to questions that we were unable to cover in the meeting:  If we are fully vaccinated, are we allowed to resume volunteering in a clinical setting (ex: in-person medical interpreting, administration of vaccines)?  Is there any specific permission or paperwork required to resume these activities?   For COM Students: With respect to purely volunteer work by pre-clin […]