Campus compliance and immunization update for employees

ECU is committed to the safety and well-being of our students and employees and to decreasing the spread of COVID-19. This fall, it will take all of Pirate Nation to get us back to the traditions we all know and love with as few restrictions as possible. The higher the vaccination rate on campus, the less controls we will need to stay safe.

Vaccination is the key to our fall planning for a traditional semester and critical to our ability to maintain that status by limiting and controlling case surges in the fall.

All employees and students are encouraged to upload their proof of vaccination to ECU’s myPIRATEchart. The card you received at the time of vaccination is sufficient and should include your full name. For those who need help accessing myPIRATEchart, view the instructional guide. It is a simple process and will take a few minutes of your time. This information will be treated as confidential. The university will only analyze the accumulated data to determine a percent vaccinated, which will assist university leadership in making decisions about necessary COVID-19 mitigation measures. Proof of vaccination may also allow individuals to opt-out of certain COVID-19 testing requirements as described below.

It is expected that students, faculty and staff with an on-campus presence in the fall will be required to participate in reentry and/or surveillance testing to closely monitor the potential spread of the virus on campus. Employees and students who have provided proof of vaccination may be exempt from certain testing requirements.

All individuals participating in on-campus activities, including employees and students, must be compliant with ECU’s community standards. Compliance with community standards in the fall is anticipated to require one of the following:

1. Proof that the individual is vaccinated with an FDA or WHO approved vaccine, or
2. Compliance with ECU’s reentry and/or surveillance testing program, or
3. The individual has received a medical or religious accommodation from ECU’s COVID-19 testing program.

Please remain vigilant throughout the summer to stop the spread of COVID-19. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Those who have received the first dose of a two-shot series should be sure to follow up with the second dose to get the full immune response and protection. Both doses are required to be exempt from reentry and/or surveillance testing.

Vaccinations and COVID-19 testing are available through ECU’s Student Health Services. You can also find a vaccination site near you through North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, Take Your Shot initiative. Employees are asked to direct questions to employeerelations@ecu.edu. Students should direct questions to ecucovidvaccine@ecu.edu.

ECU will continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control, NC Department of Health and Human Services and local health officials. The information provided in this memo may change if new recommendations are released in the coming weeks.

Together as a community of Pirates we can put this virus behind us so we can enjoy being together as before in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and elsewhere on campus enjoying all that campus life has to offer.