Submitting Vaccination Or Medical/religious Exemptions Documentation
Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues:
As announced this week, Syracuse University will require all faculty and staff to submit documented proof of vaccination status or information supporting their application for a medical or religious exemption. This process will occur electronically and the documentation provided by you will be retained in a secure and confidential electronic file that is separate from your official employment records.
The electronic form will be available on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. We ask that you submit your documentation as soon as possible after this date to allow sufficient time for it to be approved prior to the beginning of the spring semester . Detailed in this message are the processes for submitting documentation for review and verification by the University.
Submitting Proof of Vaccination :
To submit proof of vaccinations, including the booster vaccination, please follow this process:
Submitting a Medical Exemption :
To apply for a medical exemption, please take these steps:
Submitting a Religious Exemption :
To apply for a religious exemption, please take these steps:
Sincerely,
Religious Exemptions Are Not Obligated
Religious and medical exemptions might provide some people with accommodations to the vaccine mandates, but they are not guaranteed to work. There is no law that requires employers or institutions to grant blanket exemptions.
At Ivy Tech, for example, out of the 234 requests for religious exemptions for the vaccine, almost 30 students were denied an exemption.
Failure to get vaccinated might even hurt employees paychecks. United Airlines announced on Wednesday that employees who were denied religious and medical exemptions had five more weeks to get the shot before facing termination or unpaid leave.
Legal experts agree that in the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, institutions and employers can consider religious exemption requests but are not obligated to, especially when unvaccinated students and workers pose a safety risk.
Rick Garnett, a law professor and Director of the Notre Dame Program on Church, State & Society, noted that neither public nor private institutions of higher education would be obligated to offer religious exemptions amid a general vaccine mandate, especially during a public health crisis. I suspect that courts would be strongly inclined to hold that such mandates are necessary to advance a compelling public interest, Garnett said.
Implications For Disease Outbreaks
Overall, vaccination rates in the United States remain high. But many experts wonder what the effect will have on public health, as many children will be exempted from vaccination. Some point to the increasing measles incidence that emerged in England after a study proposed an association between MMR vaccination and autism. Vaccination rates in England dropped in response, from more than 90% to 80% or lower. Measles cases, meanwhile, began to rise. While only 56 cases were confirmed in Wales and England in 1998, 1,843 were confirmed by 2013.
One U.S. study showed that children with nonmedical vaccination exemptions were 35 times more likely to contract measles than vaccinated children. Another study showed a similar risk with pertussis . And several measles epidemics have been traced to religious communities that do not commonly practice vaccination. In Philadelphia in 1990-91, nine children died from measles centered in a religious community that shunned vaccination.
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What The Law Says
For starters, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that employers generally should assume that a request for a religious exemption is sincere, regardless of how untraditional the religion may be or appear to be. The EEOC also says that an employee seeking an exemption does not need to show that they are scrupulous in their observance.
However, EEOC suggests that if an employer wants to push the matter, evidence tending to show that an employee acted in a manner inconsistent with his professed religious beliefs is, of course, relevant to the factfinder’s evaluation of sincerity.”
In addition to the question of inconsistent behavior, the EEOC identifies three other factors that could undermine the credibility of an employee seeking a religious exemption:
- Whether the accommodation would produce a particularly desirable benefit that is likely sought for secular reasons.
- Whether the timing of the request is suspect.
- Whether the employer has reason to believe that the accommodation is not sought for religious reasons.
The Religious Reason For Vaccination
Many prominent religious leaders have emphasized their full support toward vaccines and modern science. Pope Francis described getting vaccinated as an act of love. In Indianapolis, the Archdiocese has declined to assist parishioners in obtaining religious exemptions from the vaccine.
Other church leaders across the country are preaching the importance of getting vaccinated to protect and save lives. Former evangelical pastor Curtis Chang, co-founder of the organization Christians and the Vaccine, told USA Today that the group is trying to persuade Christians, especially evangelical Christians, to think about the vaccine from a biblical perspective of being faithful to Jesus.
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How Do Vaccine Exemptions Affect Disease Outbreaks
Overall, vaccination rates in the United States have stayed high. More than 90% of children are vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and chickenpox.
Yet some small communities around the country have high numbers of unvaccinated children. When someone who is sick comes into one of these areas, outbreaks can happen.
One example is measles. The United States wiped out measles in 2000, but people still bring it into the country when they travel to Europe, Israel, or other regions of the world that have outbreaks.
“Typically, the outbreak starts among vaccine refusers,” says Daniel Salmon, PhD, professor and director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Then it spreads to kids who are too young to be vaccinated or who can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons. It also spreads to what we call vaccine failures — kids who have been vaccinated but the vaccine didn’t work for them.”
States that make it easy to get nonmedical exemptions have more exemptions, and higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases, than states with tougher laws, research finds. States that offer personal exemptions have more than twice the rate of whooping cough as those that only allow religious exemptions.
How To Write A Religious Exemption For Covid 19 Vaccine
How To Write A Religious Exemption For Covid 19 Vaccine. The eeoc explains that there are no magic words that employees have to use when seeking an exemption. Im sharing the verbiage in case it may be helpful to someone else.
Im sharing the verbiage in case it may be helpful to someone else. She also researches and has written extensively on vaccine mandates and religious exemptions. Folks can drop this text into their unit letterhead, fill in their name, and submit to their commanders.
Source: www.chicagotribune.com
2 is your religious objection to the use of all vaccines as a specific type of vaccine or some other subset of. Here is a religious exemption example for north carolina.
Source: www.usatoday.com
Under federal law, employers have a lot of discretion in granting the requests. They do not have to cite title vii or even use the term religious accommodation but they.
Source: childusa.org
Im sharing the verbiage in case it may be helpful to someone else. The equal employment opportunity commissions template is the same one the agency uses for its own employees, and was part of a thursday update to.
Source: www.kait8.com
1) freedom to serve god with our bodies as a temple of gods holy spirit as per. In certain circumstances, federal law may entitle a federal employee who has a religious objection to.
Source: cbs4indy.comSource: bjconline.orgSource: www.oakridger.comSource: www.11alive.comSource: www.americamagazine.orgSource: www.newsweek.com
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Why Some Christians Oppose Vaccinations
The Christian arguments for opposing COVID-19 vaccinations are generally twofold:
First is the connection between vaccines and abortion. The vaccines do not contain fetal cells, but at various stages of vaccine development and manufacturing, some of the vaccines used fetal tissue, some of which were derived from an aborted fetus. This is a sensitive and complicated issue, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has a thorough description of it here.
Second, Biblical verses are believed to be relevant to vaccinations, such as 1 Corinthians 6:19: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
And How To Get A Religious Exemption Plus ‘normal’ May Return In The Spring The Loophole That May Allow Young Children To Be Vaccinated And More
Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
There is no single list that every employer or business will accept to exempt a person from a vaccine mandate, but there are some more I want to cite. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Tom Avril wrote a bang-up piece on this issue that I used as a launchpad for this item.
Here are some conditions and scenarios that people or health care professionals commonly cite when seeking a medical exemption:
PEG allergies: Polyethylene glycol is a substance contained in both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. It can touch off an allergic reaction for a small number of people. PEG is used in a wide range of pharmaceutical products as a contrast agent to make images show up on ultrasounds and such. You heard about that allergy early in the vaccine program. It is why you have to hang around for a while after you get your vaccine to be sure you do not have a reaction.
There could be a reason they had no trouble. Forbes reports that PEGs may have had nothing to do with the reactions:
Cancer patients will be high on the list for the first booster shots.
Phobia of needles: Trypanophobia probably wont qualify someone for a medical exemption, even though a surprisingly large number of people freak out over shots.
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Normal May Come In The Spring
We all have swallowed hard more than once in the last year and a half when we got sobering news about how long the pandemic would in all probability be with us. Dr. Anthony Fauci says if we step up and get vaccinated, we might get back to our pre-pandemic way of life in spring 2022. Yes, it will be another long winter, it seems.
Wed Suggest Creating A Mandatory Vaccination Policy And A Procedure To Manage Vaccination Exemption Requests For Medical Or Religious Reasons That Comply With Ada And Title Vii Rules
How to write a religious exemption for covid 19 vaccine.religious exemption covid vaccine ontario.your vaccine trial principal investigator or study director can submit an exemption, with your consent, directly to the provincial vaccine contact centre In certain circumstances, federal law may entitle a federal employee who has a religious objection to. After the request has been thoroughly reviewed, you will be notified, in writing, of the decision regarding your requested religious exemption.
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What Are Personal Or Philosophical Exemptions
This exemption is based on parents’ personal beliefs about vaccines. Some parents are concerned about vaccine safety. Others believe that getting sick is good for the child because it strengthens the immune system. Many of these concerns have been debunked, such as a theory that vaccines cause autism.
What Are Medical Exemptions
Parents can ask for a medical exemption if a vaccine wouldn’t be safe for their child. Reasons that children can get an exemption include:
- They have a disease or take medicine that weakens their immune system.
- They have a severe allergy to a vaccine or an ingredient in it.
- They had a serious reaction to a vaccine in the past.
To get a medical exemption, parents need to have their child’s doctor sign a form. Many states ask whether the exemption is temporary or permanent. And almost half of states require doctors to sign a new form every year or so.
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Wednesday June 16 2021
- The Office of Student Health & Wellness will process forms requesting medical and religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination for students.
- The Office of the Vice President for Diversity & Community Affairs will process forms requesting religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination for employees and TC housing affiliates.
Each request will be carefully reviewed according to the established guidelines and contraindications for approved COVID-19 vaccinations.Please allow at least 15 business days for your request to be processed. After your request has been reviewed and processed, you will be notified, in writing, if an exemption has been granted or denied. The decision is final and not subject to appeal. Individuals are permitted to reapply if new documentation and information should become available.Please direct questions regarding exemption requests to: and Additional information about the process for requesting a religious and medical exemption process is available on the COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement page of TCs Preparedness website. If you have additional questions about TCs plans for returning to campus this fall, please contact .Sincerely,
Those Plastic Barriers May Not Be Keeping You Safe
Carpenters John Mackie, of Canton, Mass., left, and Doug Hathaway, of Holliston, Mass., right, apply trim to a newly installed plastic barrier in an office area, at Boston University, in Boston, on May 20, 2020.
Just as we did a year ago when COVID-19 cases were increasing and it seemed we should do more, businesses are erecting plastic barriers between customers or between customers and workers. Evidence is emerging that such barriers may be good theater, but do not help much to keep people safe from the virus. The New York Times found:
Research suggests that in some instances, a barrier protecting a clerk behind a checkout counter may redirect the germs to another worker or customer. Rows of clear plastic shields, like those you might find in a nail salon or classroom, can also impede normal air flow and ventilation.
Under normal conditions in stores, classrooms and offices, exhaled breath particles disperse, carried by air currents and, depending on the ventilation system, are replaced by fresh air roughly every 15 to 30 minutes. But erecting plastic barriers can change air flow in a room, disrupt normal ventilation and create dead zones, where viral aerosol particles can build up and become highly concentrated.
Well be back tomorrow with a new edition of Covering COVID-19. Are you subscribed? to get it delivered right to your inbox.
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What Are The Requirements For A Vaccine Religious Exemption
As anti-vaxxers and COVID-19 vaccine skeptics feel economic walls closing in, some are turning to religion to avoid the jabs.
More and more employers are mandating that their employees get a COVID-19 vaccination if they want to keep their jobs. But there seems to be greater awareness among the unvaccinated that claiming a religious exemption” may provide a legal pathway for them to avoid the jab.
That phrase refers to language in Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. A section of that law mandates that employers must make reasonable accommodations” for an employee’s sincerely held” religious beliefs if doing so does not impose undue hardship” on the employer.
You might imagine that undue hardship” is the kind of imprecise phrase that could spark a legal dispute. But what about sincerely held” religious beliefs? How sincere must they be? Where is the line between sincere and insincere?
Who Qualifies For A Religious Exemption For A Vaccine
Oakland University Professor and Chair of Philosophy Mark Navin said exemptions should be viewed as a compromise.
“We have to remember what exemptions are in nature a compromise or second vest because the government wants to protect the safety and well-being of the community with general rules to coordinate behavior. But what an exemption is, is it allows some room to allow some individuals to act on the basis of a religiously-motivated conscious,” Navin said.
The same survey from PRRI showed that only 10% Americans believe their religion doesn’t allow the COVID-19 vaccine.
What makes the matter less black and white is weve seen local churches host vaccine clinics for almost a year now. This month, Pope Francis said getting the vaccine is a “moral obligation.”
Navin said despite faith leaders encouraging the vaccine, that doesn’t mean their followers do not qualify for a religious exemption.
“The important point to note is that the U.S. government has long recognized you can have a religious belief that, maybe, is different from what your organized religious leaders are teaching,” Navin said.
The PRRI survey says, among churchgoers, 54% were vaccinated because of a faith-based approach.
Navin says proving exemptions may require documents, written essays, or tests for consistency.
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The Challenge With Religious Exemptions
The Christian argument for religious exemptions follows two tracks typically: first, that the vaccine shots at some point in their production used aborted fetal cell lines. The second argument cites a Bible verse that claims that the human body is Gods temple of the Holy Spirit and argues that for that reason receiving a vaccine would be a sin.
Johnson & Johnson did use a replicated fetal cell line in the production of its vaccine, but Pfizer and Moderna did not. They did, however, use replicated fetal cell lines to test the effectiveness of their vaccines. Those cell lines, however, were isolated from two fetuses in 1973 and 1985 and then replicated numerous times over the ensuing decades. They are commonly used in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries to test and create medications.
Arthur Caplan, a bioethics professor at New York University Langone Medical Center, said that people who oppose the coronavirus on religious grounds should also oppose numerous medications and vaccines developed over the past 30 to 40 years.
Theres a lot more drugs, vaccines and medicines you should not be taking and protesting if youre really worried about these fetal cells being used, Caplan said. I dont think most of this is sincere. I think its just a way to get out of having to take a vaccine.
But there are many groups that are taking it seriously and giving individuals support and advice on ways to obtain a religious exemption or even challenge a vaccination mandate.