Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to notify you that faculty and staff are now able to upload their proof of the COVID-19 vaccine via the Open Communicator website. Open Communicator is part of Point and Click, an outside vendor providing vaccine-verification services for all Barnard community members.
Instructions can be found in this document; annotated screenshots are also available.
As announced in the May 17 email from Linda Bell and Jomysha Delgado Stephen, all faculty and staff accessing campus must meet Barnard’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, which means that they have been vaccinated or have an approved medical or religious exemption. The College has an application process for community members who wish to request an exemption and the application can be requested via the Request Form for Exemption Application. As noted on the application, applicants will be notified by email if their request is approved or denied, or if more information is required; merely submitting the application does not guarantee approval.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or an approved exemption will be required by August 15, 2021. This means that you will need to have uploaded your proof of vaccination by that date; your uploaded documentation will be subsequently reviewed. You will see your approval of your upload in the Open Communicator website once it has been approved.
If you will not have received your final dose of a WHO-listed or FDA-authorized COVID-19 by August 1, you will not meet this deadline. If you plan on taking a two-dose vaccine and have not yet started, or are concerned that you may not meet the August 15 deadline for any other reason, you must complete the Incomplete Vaccine Requirement Status Form so that the College can offer appropriate assistance. We encourage everyone to get their first shot (whether of a one-dose or a two-dose vaccine) as soon as possible. The NYC vaccine finder website allows you to search by vaccine type and includes walk-up sites. Barnard’s Contact Tracing team is also available to help make appointments, including those at Columbia’s Lerner Hall vaccination site.
As announced in the July 16 edition of the Connections newsletter, members of the Office of Human Resources and the Pandemic Response Team (PRT) will be in the Futter Field tent for “Let’s Talk Vax & Snacks!” Get any questions answered about the vaccine, the religious or medical exemption process, or the College’s requirements on the dates below. We will also have iPads available under the tent for those that need assistance with uploading their proof of vaccination. If you are not available during these times and need assistance, please go to the Testing Center when it is open or email vaccine@barnard.edu and a member of the PRT will be happy to help.
Thursday 7/22 3 - 4 p.m.
Friday 7/30: 12 - 1 p.m.
Monday 8/2: 11 - 12 p.m.
Fully vaccinated members of the community will still be required to comply with the College’s pandemic-related policies and procedures; these policies and procedures updated for Fall 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks. Unvaccinated members of the community will be informed of the additional precautions that they will be required to follow, which include increased testing and required masking.
FAQs on the Barnard COVID-19 vaccine website are updated regularly. If you have additional questions about the College’s COVID-19 vaccination policies and procedures, please send them to vaccine@barnard.edu. General inquiries about the College’s pandemic response can be directed to covid19@barnard.edu.
Wishing you a safe and healthy rest of the summer,
Andrea Stagg
Chair, Barnard Vaccine Working Group; Deputy General Counsel & Director of Government Relations and Compliance
Cynthia Yang
Head, Pandemic Response Team; Deputy Chief of Staff to the President