Vaccines

COVID-19
FAQ
Vaccines

St. Olaf will require all new and returning faculty, staff, and students to be fully vaccinated by the start of the fall 2021 semester.

All new and returning faculty, staff, and students need to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by August 1, with a scheduled second dose (if required) to be completed prior to arrival on campus. Faculty and staff will be required to report their vaccination status by August 1. A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after completing the full course of a vaccine series.
Students will be required to report their vaccination status by August 1. Students who have been unable to be vaccinated will have an opportunity to do so upon their arrival to campus. If you are not vaccinated when arriving on campus, you will be expected to wear a mask indoors.
Exceptions to the vaccine requirement will be considered to accommodate individuals with disabilities or to accommodate individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs. To request an accommodation, please contact vaccineaccommodation@stolaf.edu.
Refer to our Community Standards to learn more about our mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Requiring vaccines is the safest and most effective line of defense against COVID-19. This is especially critical in dealing with the COVID-19 variants, including the latest Delta Variant, which tend to be more contagious and have more severe symptoms. Full vaccination will help us reach our goal of enabling our community to interact without masks, to work more closely and in person with each other, to be part of the Northfield community, to welcome parents and other visitors to campus for college events, and to enjoy the many activities and interactions that make St. Olaf such a wonderful place to live and study.

Complying with the COVID-19 vaccination policy is a condition of continuing employment for all current faculty and staff. If an employee of St. Olaf is unwilling to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, and has not been granted a religious or disability accommodation, the College reserves the right to respond in the manner it deems appropriate under the circumstances to uphold this policy of requiring vaccination as a condition of continued employment. Such options could include, for example, a leave of absence without pay or termination of employment.

For students, complying with the COVID-19 vaccination requirement is a condition of participation in St. Olaf academic programs as well as co-curricular programs or activities. Students must comply to have access to housing.

Contact VaccineAccommodation@stolaf.edu if you believe you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability or a sincerely held religious belief. We will provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with a disability who provide sufficient documentation from a medical provider demonstrating that their disability prevents them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, provided that such reasonable accommodations do not constitute an undue hardship on the College or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.

We will provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs that prevent them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, provided that such reasonable accommodations do not impose more than a minimal burden on the operation of our business or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.

If you request a reasonable accommodation at VaccineAccommodation@stolaf.edu, you will receive a form enabling you to request that accommodation. Your request will be reviewed by the following committee members:

Vice President for Human Resources Leslie Moore

Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life Pamela McDowell

Associate Director of Disability, Access, and Technology Support Laura Knobel-Piehl

Assistant Director of Disability and Access Services Joe Young

College Ministry Staff

Refer to our Community Standards to learn more about our mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Northfield Hospitals + Clinics has COVID-19 vaccination appointments available to everyone 12 years and older. Please call 507-646-8019 to schedule an appointment or visit Northfield Hospitals + Clinics’ website for more information. You can also contact your primary health care provider or a local pharmacy.

The Minnesota Department of Health has a Vaccine Connector tool and vaccine locator map to help Minnesotans find out when, where, and how to get their COVID-19 vaccination. Many sites offer walk-in appointments, and you can also schedule appointments directly at one of the Minnesota Community Vaccination Program sites.

For those out of state, the CDC also has Vaccines.gov, which is a site dedicated to helping you find vaccination appointments near you. For international students, if you are unable to be vaccinated in your country we will have an opportunity for you to be vaccinated when you return to campus in the fall.

Non-exempt (hourly) staff obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine are able to use the SLR-ER field in TES. We estimate that you will need no more than 1.5 to 2 hours of time if you are obtaining the vaccination off campus. If the vaccination is obtained on campus, we estimate that you will need approximately 30 minutes, which you do not need to log in the SLR-ER field.

Supervisors are encouraged to provide flexibility to employees to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine.

For summer: with far fewer people on campus and new guidance from the CDC and Minnesota Governor Walz, we will relax St. Olaf’s masking requirements. As of June 1, 2021, members of the St. Olaf campus community who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask on campus (indoors or outdoors). Members of the campus community who are not fully vaccinated are strongly encouraged to continue to wear a mask indoors. Masking requirements may change over the course of the summer to remain in line with government guidance and requirements. We also ask the community to respect those who, even if vaccinated, still choose to wear a mask in public.

Over the summer, we will continue to consult with the Minnesota Department of Health and national infectious disease control experts to determine if other public health precautions will be necessary in the fall of 2021. More information will be shared before fall semester 2021.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. History. To learn more about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccination, please visit the CDC website.

If you have medical concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, please contact your medical provider.