January 10, 2022: COVID Update
Dear Colleagues,
We hope you and your families are well. Please remember to stay home if you have illness symptoms unless you have a negative PCR test. Please get your booster vaccine, continue to wear face coverings (we strongly recommend N95, KN95, KF94 or surgical masks depending on activities). Avoid crowded settings and practice social distancing when eating indoors and when in public settings where people around you may be unvaccinated. Wash hands frequently, even after you have been vaccinated. These measures, in addition to vaccinations, are key to fighting Omicron and other variants.
New York City continues to have a high 7-day positivity rate of 31.1%. However, at Columbia, our asymptomatic testing program is reporting much lower positivity rates of 12.6% the week of 12/27 and 9.2% the week of 1/3.
Reminders of deadline: Columbia University has mandated boosters for all faculty, staff and students effective January 31, 2022. Those who have had a previous infection still need to receive their booster by the deadline. People without a contraindication for vaccination can get vaccinated once they have recovered from their illness and have met the criteria for discontinuing isolation; those without symptoms can be vaccinated once they have met the criteria for discontinuing isolation. Information about how to upload booster status is forthcoming.
51 W. 51st Street Booster Schedule — January
| Booster Session | Opening Schedule through Connect |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, January 11, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/7 at 8am |
| Thursday, January 13, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/7 at 8am |
| Friday, January 14, 9am–12pm | 1/7 at 8am |
| Friday, January 14, 1pm–4pm | Employee Walk-Ins |
| Tuesday, January 18, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/14 at 8am |
| Thursday, January 20, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/14 at 8am |
| Friday, January 21, 9am–12pm | 1/14 at 8am |
| Friday, January 21, 1pm–4pm | Employee Walk-Ins |
| Tueday, January 25, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/21 at 8am |
| Thursday, January 27, 1pm–4:30pm | 1/21 at 8am |
| Friday, January 28, 9am–12pm | 1/21 at 8am |
| Friday, January 28, 1pm–4pm | Employee Walk-Ins |
ColumbiaDoctors primary care patients may also get a booster during a regular primary care visit. It is also fine to get a booster at a pharmacy or other vaccine site.
Governor Hochul has announced new testing sites at four MTA subway stations, including the 125th Street station (A, B, C, D lines). More information is available here.
CDC approved the following:
- Expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals 12 through 15 years of age.
- Shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech AND the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months.
- Allow for a third primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children 5 through 11 years of age.
Thank you and stay safe!
Donna Lynne, DrPH
Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, CUIMC
University COVID Director
Magda Sobieszczyk, MD, MPH
Chief of Infectious Diseases and Co-Chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee
Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH
Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health and Co-Chair of the CUIMC COVID-19 Vaccine Committee