Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate Applies to All NIH Staff

“Vaccine protection for all adults is our best hope of putting Covid-19 behind us,” said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins in an Oct. 15 email to staff. He highlighted several important deadlines set by the federal Covid-19 vaccination mandate. See more details at www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/overview/. The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force is led by the White House Covid-19 Response Team, the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management.

The Covid-19 vaccination mandate applies to all NIH staff—including employees, contractors, trainees, volunteers and tenants—whether you’re working onsite, remotely or on full-time telework. It is important to act soon, as failure to meet the deadlines outlined below may lead to disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. If you’re not yet vaccinated, don’t wait until Nov. 22! That will be too late. Note: Covid-19 boosters are not included as part of the vaccination mandate and need not be reported. Schedule your vaccination at https://clinweb.cc.nih.gov/cct. 

Federal Employees. Your last vaccine dose must be received no later than Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 to meet the Nov. 22 deadline for being fully vaccinated. NIH federal employees fully vaccinated at NIH need not take any further action; you’re set. Those vaccinated somewhere other than NIH must submit proof of vaccination through the Covid-19 Vaccination Status Form, which can be accessed from personal devices, by Nov. 22. 

Contractors. You must be fully vaccinated by Wednesday, Dec. 8. Contractors will be required to report their vaccination or seek a medical or religious exemption directly through their employer. While contractors are encouraged to report their information through the Covid-19 Vaccination Status Form, doing so will not meet the requirement for reporting directly to their employer. For questions, contact your employer or contracting officer.

Other Staff. We continue to await information about requirements for trainees, volunteers and tenants, but we anticipate a similar timeframe as that for contractors, so don’t wait. Go ahead and get vaccinated if you haven’t already or report your vaccination to NIH, if you received it in the community. 

We will continue to update the Vaccination Requirements intranet page, https://employees.nih.gov/pages/coronavirus/vaccination-requirements.aspx, as guidance is finalized.