Dear Brown Community Members,

Following up on the Wednesday, Jan. 12 campus communication regarding Spring Semester Opening, I am writing with reminders and information for rapid antigen test kit and KN95 mask pick-up; information about how to comply with the booster requirement; and a link to the recording of the faculty and staff webinar held Friday afternoon.

Rapid Antigen Test and KN95 Mask Distribution

• The Alumnae Hall and One Davol Test Pick-up Sites will open at 10:00 am tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 17; slightly later than the originally scheduled 8:00 am due to the wintry weather forecast). You must have your Brown ID card with you to pick up supplies.

• Upon entering the site, you will swipe your Brown ID to pick up tests and masks. Each community member will be given two (2) rapid antigen tests and a pack of ten (10) KN95 masks. Two tests will be sufficient for undergraduate students who are already here to do their required re-entry tests this week, and the supply of masks is sufficient for most people for about a month. We will distribute additional tests as our supply increases, and additional information about that will be communicated later this week. Please note that the Advanced Clinical staff at the pick-up sites cannot give out more tests than the authorized amount, and we cannot provide more than two (2) tests per community member at this time.

• Operating hours for the pick-up sites for the month of January can be found on the pick-up sites page of the Healthy Brown website.

• Undergraduate students are required to take two rapid antigen tests upon return to campus (re-entry test requirement). Take one test on the first day you return to campus or the first day tests are available to you if you are already here (day 1) and the second test two days later (day 3).

• All students (undergraduate, graduate and medical) are required to report any positive test result to University Health Services via the Health and Wellness Patient Portal using your Brown username and password. Follow-up instructions from University Health Services will be provided to students.

• For faculty, staff, graduate students and medical students: As has been the case since October, asymptomatic testing remains optional for fully vaccinated graduate and medical students and faculty and staff. We encourage you to pick up rapid antigen test kits and KN95 masks and use an antigen test if you are experiencing symptoms, concerned about a potential exposure, preparing to attend a large event, or for other reasons at your discretion.

• Faculty and staff with any positive test result are advised to contact their primary care provider and must report their positive test result to University Human Resources for follow-up instructions (send those results or a picture of your at-home test to leave_admin@health.brown.edu). Employees experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or other respiratory illness must stay home and consult with their primary care provider.

• Testing of any type is not a substitute for monitoring and paying attention to the onset and development of symptoms. All Brown community members must stay home from work, class and/or other University events and functions if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

Booster Requirements and Reporting

As previously communicated, all employees (faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, visiting researchers, lecturers, and seasonal and intermittent staff) and students must receive a COVID-19 booster shot no later than January 26, 2022 (the first day of classes of the spring semester), or within 30 days of becoming eligible. Further information is available on the Vaccinations page of healthy.brown.edu.

• For students, once you receive your booster or if you already have, please upload a copy of your documentation to the Health and Wellness Patient Portal. Directions on how to do so are available on the Verify Your Vaccination web page.

• For employees, once you receive your booster or if you already have, please submit your updated vaccine record with your booster directly through Workday. Directions on how to do so are available on the Verify Your Vaccination web page.

• On-campus vaccine clinics are being held on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Registration information for students is available in this Jan. 13 communication and for faculty and staff in this communication. We have requests into the State of Rhode Island to host additional clinics the week classes begin and, if approved, information about those clinics will be distributed via today@brown.

Spring Semester Opening Webinar Recording Available

Members of the Brown community can view a recording of the spring semester opening webinar for faculty and staff hosted by President Christina H. Paxson on Friday afternoon. Dean of the School of Public Health Ashish K. Jha provided an overview of the current public health landscape, and President Paxson, Provost Richard M. Locke, Vice President for Campus Life Eric Estes and I reviewed information and answered questions about the start of the semester.

Please feel free to share any questions or concerns. For questions or support regarding the testing program, students can contact the student testing support team (studenttesting@brown.edu), and faculty and staff can contact the employee testing support team (employeetestinguhr@brown.edu).

Sincerely,

Russell C. Carey
Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy