Vanderbilt is expanding testing programs for the on-campus community during the spring semester to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.
No testing is required at this time for staff who are not working on campus.
On-campus staff testing
Staff working on campus do not need to submit external or at-home test results unless they have received a positive test. All positive tests should continue to be submitted to the Command Center using this webform.
Testing for staff groups who are working on campus will be provided on a rotating basis through Vanderbilt’s Testing Center at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center as detailed below.
- You will be notified by your administrative leadership when it is time for your team to test. Please do not report to the Testing Center until you are notified, unless you are required to test under the protocols outlined below.
- Staff should continue to work (and follow all health and safety protocols) until receiving their test result. If negative, you should continue to work as normal. If positive, the Command Center will be automatically notified and will contact you about the isolation period and contact tracing.
- As a reminder, if you test positive at any time through an external testing program or believe you are a close contact to someone who tested positive, please complete the webform to inform the Command Center.
Testing programs for on-campus staff
The university is expanding the requirements for the existing asymptomatic and sentinel testing programs for on-campus staff. Testing protocols will be as follows:
- Individuals who have not provided any vaccination documentation will be required to test twice a week. These individuals will not separately be included in the sentinel testing program.
- Individuals who have provided documentation of completed vaccination but not of a booster will be required to test once a week. These individuals will not separately be included in the sentinel testing program.
- Individuals who have provided documentation of completed vaccination and a booster will be exempt from asymptomatic testing. These individuals will be included in the sentinel testing program.
- Sentinel, or random sampling, testing will test groups of asymptomatic community members who are on campus on a rotating basis at the Vanderbilt Testing Center, regardless of their vaccination and booster status. Eligible faculty will be notified when it is time for them to test.
Symptomatic testing
Staff who have symptoms related to COVID-19 can be tested from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Occupational Health Express Care Clinic.
Staff with symptoms can also call the VUMC COVID-19 hotline at 888-312-0847 daily, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to be assessed and directed to the nearest open testing site. Additional options include the Vanderbilt Health walk-in clinics and the Vanderbilt Health clinics at Walgreens. If options listed above are not open and the symptoms are severe enough, the individual should go to the VUMC emergency department.
An individual awaiting test results should remain at home off campus, minimizing exposure to others, and keep their supervisor informed of their status.
Previously positive in past 90 days
Staff will be exempt from mandatory testing for 90 days as long as their positive test result is recorded by the Command Center. Positive tests from the Vanderbilt Testing Center and Occupational Health are automatically reported to the Command Center. Positive tests from outside those two programs should be reported using the webform. At the end of 90 days, the faculty member will be automatically placed into the appropriate testing program based on their vaccination at that time.
Vanderbilt public health experts will continue to evaluate all testing protocols based on trends in positivity rate and case counts and will update them as needed to protect health and safety as much as possible.