UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

VIDEO: Vaccine Town Hall

UND leaders answer faculty and staff questions about vaccines, boosters and the federal vaccine mandate

Editor’s note: On Thursday, Dec. 2, UND leaders held a Vaccine Town Hall for the University’s faculty and staff. Above is a video of the Zoom Town Hall, and below is a time-stamped list of the questions that get asked and answered in the video.

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12:14 – How will UND guarantee our medical privacy during this mandate?

17:08 – Who is going to know if I’ve been vaccinated or not?

19:37 – Is there a place where those of us who would like to, could pre-emptively and voluntarily upload our vaccination status?

21:28 – Do we have the freedom to tell students, faculty or staff to wear masks, if we see them not wearing masks in the hallways in buildings on campus?

23:45 – I heard that NDSU is going to require vaccination regardless of the (court-ordered) stay for contractors. Will UND follow suit?

24:50 – In the event that vaccination does become required, will UND be held liable to compensate employees who are injured by the vaccine?

25:05 – Will booster shots be mandated, or just initial vaccinations?

25:51 – If you require the vaccine and I do not want it, will I be terminated? And if employees must be vaccinated, why not the students?

29:03 – How will we determine who is subject to the mandate?

30:25 – It sounds like UND already has access to faculty’s COVID vaccination records. If vaccination was done in North Dakota or Minnesota, does UND also have access to other faculty health care info?

31:51 – Will there be a requirement for testing of employees who are not vaccinated?

33:11 – Will student employees be a part of the mandate?

33:48 – How will supervisors deal with people sharing offices? What if I’m reluctant to share an office space with a co-worker who is compliant but not vaccinated? Do I have a choice?

34:55 – Why are masks not required at campus events such as hockey games?

35:31 – If we do not get an exemption, how long will we have to get vaccinated after that point? And are exemption forms already available for people to fill out, just in the interest of being prepared?

36:51 – Can we please post a full-time person in our building to remind people to wear masks?

39:08 – Is UND offering the booster here on campus?

40:17 – When a request for an exemption is reviewed, will the reviewer simply make a decision based on the justification provided by the employee, or will elements such as the employee’s role on campus be considered? In other words, what factors will be considered in the decisions on waivers?

42:26 – What’s the health care pathway for getting a waiver?

44:23 – Would not asking someone to wear a mask be considered harassment? What if a student or employee has a medical condition and is not wearing one, but is constantly being confronted about not wearing a mask?

45:46 – Grand Forks Public Schools is transitioning to a mask policy of “recommended” rather than “required.” When will UND do the same?

47:53 – Did I hear you say that if an employee falls under the mandate, is subsequently vaccinated and suffers a vaccine injury, there’s no legal recourse for the injured employee?

48:26 – If a mandate requirement is set for a certain date, will we be given enough time to get both the initial and booster shots?

50:04 – Who is liable in the case of adverse reaction to a forced vaccination?

50:23 – Can we each find out ahead of time if we’re going to be included in the mandate?

51:39 – If a person is requesting a medical waiver, will a simple letter from a health care provider be enough for documentation? Or will you require employees to meet with their doctor and incur an extra expense to complete the necessary paperwork?

53:35 – When can faculty expect that staff and colleagues will be back in their offices for work?

54:14 – Assuming the executive order isn’t enjoined, are employees working in a covered contract or workplace but not working on or in connection with a covered contractor covered by the vaccine requirement?

54:54 – If my UND department is having a non-mandatory social function off campus, should we a) discourage this activity, or b) require masks for those UND employees attending?

56:07 – If UND requires an employee to be vaccinated, and that employee tests positive for COVID, will that employee have to use his or her vacation time for the time that they have to be isolated?

56:49 – Are faculty and/or administrators allowed to ask faculty if they have been vaccinated?