From Sarah Van Orman, MD, MMM, FACHA, Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, Division Chief for College Health, Keck School of Medicine of USC
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has recently updated its advisory regarding travel, in light of the County’s recent reclassification to the less restrictive Orange Tier in the State of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy:
- Travelers who are fully vaccinated, meaning 2 weeks have passed after their second dose for Pfizer or Moderna, or after their single dose of Johnson and Johnson, are at lower risk and can now travel within the United States. They are not be required to test or quarantine upon their arrival in Los Angeles County if they do not have any symptoms of illness.
- Travelers who are not fully vaccinated must quarantine for 7 full days after travel if they receive a negative COVID-19 test result taken 3-5 days after their arrival and before returning to campus. If a traveler does not get tested after they arrive in Los Angeles County, they must quarantine for a full 10 days and before returning to campus.
- All travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, must self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their arrival, and should get tested and isolate if they develop symptoms.
TRANSMISSION AND TESTING
The Centers for Disease Control and LA County continue to urge that everyone avoid non-essential travel during this time when there are significant hot spots across the country and the world and significant risk from more infectious variants.
As variants continue to pose public health concerns, it is important that faculty, staff and students continue to test regularly for COVID-19 if they are accessing campus. Do not use guest access to circumvent testing, as this increases risk to our entire community.
UPDATING VACCINATION RECORDS
As vaccine eligibility opens to individuals over the age of 16 on April 15, please update your student or employee health record, as follows:
- Vaccinations through USC Student Health: You will have your vaccination automatically recorded in MySHR.
- Vaccinations through Other Vaccination Centers (Public, Pharmacies, etc.): After each dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, students, faculty and staff must upload a photo of their vaccine cards in MySHR (in the “Upload Documents” section).
- Students, faculty and staff who choose not to get vaccinated, please complete the declination form and upload into MySHR (in the “Upload Documents” section) so your record is complete.
General questions about the USC campus vaccination program may be directed to the COVID-19 hotline, 213-740-6291, or covid19@usc.edu.
