Back2BU Research: Vaccination Status Reporting

The gradual repopulation of BU’s campuses begins this week. While some restrictions are being lifted, research personnel are required to abide by several important conditions detailed below, including mandatory vaccination reporting, capacity limits for offices, and some health and safety protocols.

Mandatory Vaccination Reporting

On May 28, President Brown announced that all faculty and staff would be required to disclose their vaccination status or plan via a Vaccine Status Survey in Healthway. The University needs to know how many people have been vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated in order to make important public health decisions as we plan for the fall.

Any faculty or staff who have yet to complete this survey are required to go to the Healthway website to complete the survey now. Your vaccine status is defined by your positive affirmation of one of the three statements:

  • I am fully vaccinated.
  • I am not fully vaccinated now, but I will be fully vaccinated by August 1.
  • I am not fully vaccinated now and will not be fully vaccinated by August 1.

For this Boston University survey, fully vaccinated means that you have completed all currently required dose(s) in the series of any COVID-19 vaccine. This includes vaccines without US FDA authorization or approval being offered outside of the US.

Additionally, faculty and staff who have been vaccinated outside of BU and have not yet uploaded their COVID-19 vaccination record to Occupational Health Connect are required to do so at this time. Students should upload their documentation to Patient Connect, following the instructions on the Back2BU website.

Vaccination information will be stored in employees’ confidential BU Occupational Health medical record. Individual vaccination intentions or other personal medical information will not be disclosed to managers or other employees. Managers will not ask if you are vaccinated, but they may ask you if you have completed the survey.

If you have questions about the survey or need assistance uploading your vaccination record, please contact covidhelp@bu.edu. If you have questions about BU’s back-to-work plans, details can be found on the Back2BU website.

Capacity Limits & Requirements

Effective today, Monday, June 14, all experimental or “wet” labs are permitted to operate at full (100 percent) capacity, with the following conditions:

  • Before increasing capacity in their labs, PIs need to complete and submit an updated personnel list using the template and submission form in the Research Recovery Toolkit. Recovery plans are no longer required.
  • Masks will continue to be required in research labs and administrative spaces.
  • All research personnel will need to complete daily attestations.
  • PIs are also responsible for ensuring their personnel are in the appropriate testing categories. In MyBUworks, managers can change testing categories from Category 4 to Category 1, 2, or 3 for individuals who will be coming to campus after an extended absence. Students—who manage their own testing categories—should be prompted to change their assignment if they will be working on campus.

Offices and administrative spaces associated with research, including non-experimental or “dry” labs and human subjects research, will continue to operate at 50 percent capacity through Sunday, August 1, at which point they will also be permitted to return to full capacity. Learn more on the Research Support website.

Thank you for your continued dedication to the safety of our campus community. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Office of Research at research@bu.edu.

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