Important COVID Vaccine Deadlines

As you are aware, the Governor issued a mandate for healthcare workers in NJ to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or be subject to weekly testing. This applies to all workers in public and private health care facilities and certain high-risk congregate settings. Inspira did grant exemptions for medical and religious reasons to some employees. But all other employees are required to be vaccinated. Inspira’s overall vaccination rate if considerably much lower than area hospitals. Their policy is intended to protect staff and patients from potentially contracting COVID and the highly contagious Delta variant.

Employees should be aware of some important deadlines approaching:

1. Employees who do not have an approved medical or religious exemption must be fully vaccinated by October 15^th. Fully vaccinated means you are at least two weeks out from your final vaccination shot. That means that your second shot of Pfizer or your single shot of Johnson & Johnson must be taken by October 1^st.
2. Employees who have an approved exemption or who are not fully vaccinated must get tested weekly per the State mandate. There are 3 drive-up sites for testing. They are open from 9am-7pm, 7 days a week. You do not need an appointment and the test is free of charge. Fully vaccinated staff are not required to get tested weekly.
3. Partially vaccinated and exempt employees need to get tested once in a week and they will need to show a negative test result in order to work. You may be tested, at your own cost, at a non-Inspira employee COVID testing location but the test performed must be nasopharyngeal swab. The same requirements apply regardless of testing location.
4. Proof of negative test result must be turned into your manager in order to work the following week. You do not need to get tested if you are off the schedule (PTO, per diem, leave of absence, etc.). You just need to get tested the week prior to returning to work.

Thank you all for your cooperation with this mandate and your continued commitment during these unprecedented times.