Pilots Prevent
May 4, 2021
As UP’s 2020-2021 school year comes to a close, we look back with gratitude and relief. Many staff and faculty worked hard to create Pilots Prevent protocols that could keep people safe as 800 students returned to campus, and the UP community’s dedication and compliance ensured those plans were a success. But as vaccines become increasingly available, you might be wondering if the same protocols will be in place this fall. Do we still need to mask up?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, which protocols we keep and which we can jettison, or at least adjust, all depend on many factors that will remain in flux for the foreseeable future, as well as the guidelines set by the Oregon Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control.
But even though there’s a lot we don’t know and can’t control, one thing we can do is ensure UP has “community immunity” by requiring all staff, faculty and students returning to campus this fall to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Keeping our community healthy and safe is a top priority, and vaccination compliance is integral to that goal.
That being said, some people might have trouble getting vaccinated before the semester begins. “If a student can’t get vaccinated over the summer, we’d be equipped to help them get their first shot when they get to campus,” says Joe Kaleel, director of Events, who has taken a large role in UP’s COVID management this past year. “We don’t want them to feel excluded from joining our community if they want to come in the fall.”
The hope is that UP students in need of a vaccination could get one through the campus health center when they arrive. “We’ve been approved by OHA to be a vaccine provider, but they haven’t yet decided to distribute the vaccine to college campuses,” says Kaylin Soldat, associate director of Primary Care Services. If the vaccine hasn’t been distributed to campus, the HCC will work to help students secure vaccination appointments at local sites. “We want to increase access and equity in the vaccination process,” she says. “We don’t want to put any barriers to students getting vaccinated.”
Even though, as Oregon and federal law require, some people may be able to request a medical or religious exemption, it stands to reason almost the entire the UP community will be vaccinated this fall. That means some of the Pilots Prevent restrictions will likely loosen up, but they won’t go away completely.
“We’re going to continue with many of the safety practices we have in place,” says Kaleel. “Masks will certainly be in play, but we’re hoping the OHA’s guidelines will shrink so we don’t have to be six feet apart. We’re hoping for an extremely robust fall experience and we’re very excited about having more events—if the wellness of the community permits.”
As for testing, the plan at the moment is to continue offer testing for symptomatic students or those who’ve been exposed. “The surveillance testing for asymptomatic students may not be mandatory, though that decision hasn’t been made yet,” says Soldat.
There will still be rooms set aside for isolation needs, and any students who test positive will still have the support of a COVID case manager.
“We’ll continue to follow what the CDC and OHA recommend, but our focus on the fall is going to be on vaccines,” says Soldat. “Having our community vaccinated will give us the freedom to return to the events that we love and back off on some of that testing.”
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