UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With the federal contractor vaccination mandate impacting every Penn State location, all employees must be fully vaccinated or have an approved disability/medical- or religious-related accommodation. Individuals who are granted an accommodation will be required to test weekly for COVID-19 throughout the spring semester.
Compliance mechanisms will be in place to reinforce the testing requirement and details on compliance will be shared closer to, or at the beginning of, the spring semester. Employees need to be prepared to test weekly starting in early January and the information below is provided now to allow faculty and staff to plan ahead.
University Park testing
Beginning Jan. 3, University Park faculty and staff with approved accommodations will receive an email each Monday throughout the semester to remind them to make an appointment to take a University-administered COVID-19 test by the following Sunday — the test week for compliance purposes is Monday to Sunday. A negative result from a test administered outside of the University will not be accepted.
At University Park, testing will be conducted at no cost to employees at the White Building Monday through Friday, with limited hours on Sunday. Individuals should bring their mobile phone, Penn State id+ Card and a face mask, and plan to spend 30 to 60 minutes at the test site. Appointments are preferred — the individual email will contain a link to make an appointment — however, individuals may drop into the White Building at any time during operational hours.
Employees who are traveling for a week are still required to take a COVID-19 test prior to returning to work and should plan ahead to complete an at-home Vault Health mail order test kit, which must be ordered online in advance of travel. This method is only for use if an individual is out of town during their required test week and are not able to access the White Building. It is an individual employee’s responsibility to plan ahead in case of travel. Individuals are reminded that all home tests by Vault Health use shipping via UPS and not the U.S. Postal Service. UPS drop-off locations can be found online.
Testing at other Penn State locations
Testing at locations other than University Park — including for Penn State Extension employees — is conducted entirely via Vault Health mail order test kits at no cost to employees. Beginning Jan. 3, faculty and staff at these locations with approved accommodations will receive an email each Monday throughout the semester to remind them to complete their mail-in test by the following Sunday — the test week for compliance purposes is Monday to Sunday. A negative result from a test administered outside of the University will not be accepted.
Test kits must be ordered online using the employee’s Penn State email address and employees are strongly encouraged to order 12 tests at a time so they have test resources on hand each week without delays. Employees should order their first 12 test kits prior to Jan. 3 and plan to order their second batch of kits no later than March 6.
Detailed instructions will be included with the test kits. Employees will collect a saliva sample while on a Zoom session under the supervision of a Vault Health representative. Individuals are strongly encouraged to complete tests on Monday or Tuesday each week and the process will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Employees are advised that they will likely know their current week test results before their next test week, however, they should not wait for the previous week’s result to do their next weekly test.
Employees who are traveling for a week are still required to take a COVID-19 test prior to returning to work and should plan ahead to complete an at-home Vault Health mail order test kit.
Some Penn State locations will offer test kit pick-up opportunities on campus, with additional details forthcoming.
Individuals are reminded that all home tests by Vault Health use shipping via UPS and not the U.S. Postal Service. UPS drop-off locations can be found online.
Employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement should talk to their supervisor or unit Human Resources representative about the rules that apply to them.
Visit virusinfo.psu.edu for the latest information on vaccination requirements and other COVID-19 topics affecting Penn State.