NYFA NY Health Guidance and Information
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October 14, 2022
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
The fall semester is well underway. We hope you are healthy, happy, and engaged in your programs.
We are approaching the winter season, a time associated with holiday celebrations, as well as cold temperatures, and an increased risk of illness.
As some of you may remember, approximately one month ago, the mask mandate for the NY campus was lifted. We are delighted to report that incidences of COVID-19 remain low in New York City and within our NYFA NY campus community.
However, new cases do emerge and whether the number of new COVID-19 cases in the immediate future will decline, plateau, or rise remains unknown. That said, as more people gather indoors and infections begin to rise in Europe, a winter surge of COVID-19 cases in the US is predicted. In response to this prediction, President Joe Biden recently extended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency through January, 11, 2023.
Presently, four members of the NYFA NY community have been diagnosed with COVID-19. They are currently self-isolating and all close contacts have been notified.
It remains important that we continue to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols noted to sustain our collaboration in minimizing the spread of illness within our community:
- Please complete a health screening via the NYFA Symptom Tracker on days you are scheduled to participate in in-person classes or NYFA-related activities. Please monitor yourself for COVID-19 related symptoms and honestly report to the NYFA Symptom Tracker the symptoms you are experiencing.
- Please report to the NYFA Symptom Tracker if and when you have been exposed to person(s) diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Please report to the Check In station (Fifth Floor) before you attend your first class of each day you are scheduled to report to campus.
- Please continue to wash your hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, and avoid inhabiting for extended periods of time poorly ventilated spaces.
For students and employees who recently recovered from COVID-19 or have been exposed to persons diagnosed with COVID-19, please follow the guidelines below:
- Close contacts of those diagnosed with COVID-19 are required to wear well-fitted N95/KN95 masks for 10 full days after their last day of exposure to person (s) diagnosed with COVID-19, when on campus and at all times, regardless of vaccination status. Masks may be removed only to drink water.
- Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and granted early release from their isolation periods by the COVID-19 Team Administrator are required to wear well-fitted N95/KN95 masks for 10 full days after the first day they experienced symptoms (or if asymptomatic, 10 full days after the day they tested positive), when on campus and at all times, regardless of vaccination status. Masks may be removed only to drink water.
The Updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 Booster
Staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations is a person’s best defense against severe illness and death. Presently, an updated (bivalent) booster vaccine, designed to provide protection against the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant, is available in the US, at no cost, to anyone ages 12 and older. One is eligible to receive the bivalent booster when at least two months have passed since the last COVID-19 vaccine dose, whether that dose was:
- A final primary series dose or
- An original (monovalent) booster
The CDC also recommends that people who have had more than one original (monovalent) booster get the updated (bivalent) booster.
The CDC also recommends that people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 wait three months before getting the updated (bivalent) booster.
To help you decide whether or when to get your second, third or fourth booster, we offer you this article published in YaleMedicine: The Omicron Booster: Your Questions Answered
Flu Season is Fast Approaching
Many experts are predicting a severe flu season this year. It is believed that due to the low incidence of influenza in the two years prior, population immunity is low and, as a population, we are more susceptible to flu infections.
The flu is more serious and troublesome than a bad cold. It is a contagious illness that can cause mild to severe illness, and at times lead to death.
The CDC and the New York State Department of Health recommend yearly flu vaccinations for all people, ages 6 months and older.
It is best to get a flu shot weeks before flu infections are spreading in your community. In prior years, New York state first experienced increases and spikes of influenza rates, November through February.
For more information on the 2022-2023 Flu Season, please consult the CDC Frequently Asked Influenza (Flu) Questions .
New York State’s Flu Tracker will be posting data for the 2022-2023 Influenza season in late October. The tracker will provide data regarding the weekly rates of influenza transmission in New York City and all counties in New York State.
Getting the COVID-19 Bivalent Booster and the Influenza Vaccine in New York City
Please use the NYC Vaccine Finder to schedule an appointment (or locate a facility accepting walk-ins) for either the COVID-19 or Influenza (flu) vaccines.
COVID-19 booster vaccines are readily available, free and provided to all people who are eligible.
Flu vaccines are also readily available, though individuals are asked to provide insurance information before flu vaccines are administered. Most health insurance plans cover flu vaccination without a co-pay. New Yorkers without health insurance have access to low-cost flu vaccines through New York City Health and Hospitals by scheduling an appointment online (https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org) or calling 1-844-NYC-4NYC.
NYFA students currently enrolled in NYFASHIP can get a flu vaccine with no out-of-pocket costs by scheduling an appointment with an Aetna in-network pharmacy.
The pharmacy accepting NYFASHIP located most conveniently to the EHS residence hall is:
CVS Pharmacy
156 Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 237-5001
The pharmacies accepting NYFASHIP located most conveniently to campus are:
Duane Reade
1 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
(212) 509-9020 Duane Reade
37 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
(212) 425-8460
Need Additional Information and Guidance?
To stay updated on all NYFA COVID-19 health and safety protocols, please visit the COVID Safety Plan.
For tips on staying healthy and for guidance on how to access care should you become ill, please visit the NYFA Student Hub.
Please use the NYFA Symptom Tracker to report, with immediacy, COVID-19 related symptoms and exposure to person(s) diagnosed with COVID-19.
Please report positive COVID-19 test results to: covidteamny@nyfa.edu
We hope you find this information helpful as you make plans for staying healthy throughout the remainder of this semester and beyond.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our campus safe and healthy!
NYFA NY COVID-19 Response Team |
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