Strategies to Help Implement the Vaccine Requirements: Policy Implementation and Development

Adriana Barron: We based all of our policies on the CDC and the California Department of Public Health, as well as our state and local laws, and we have been consistent using these resources but must also understand Cal/OSHA and our funding sources. It's really important. It's a really complex process that has to be assisted by legal consult and guidance, so legal consultation is definitely a must. What I would recommend is that you assign or designate a COVID officer. For us, it's our COO, and it definitely is a full-time – full-time job, consulting with legal and making sure that we are abiding by all of the laws and regulations. CAPSLO has also consulted with a third party in evaluating and requesting for exemptions.

Once we have – we are aware of a need of an exemption or an accommodation, CAPSLO will engage in an interactive process to identify a possible accommodation or exemption. Our third party is assisting us in follow up and tracking and having that initial dialog with a formal interview to decide whether we can meet those accommodations. Timelines are vital to developing policy and procedures, as well as guiding implementation. Having those due dates and those target dates are really important because you want to keep the work flowing and your policies going.

Monica Walters: We essentially put out the word that by in the next week, people had to turn in a vaccination confirmation form, either showing that they already had been vaccinated or that they were intending to be vaccinated, or that they were going to request a reasonable accommodation. And we had all of that information to H.R. documented by August 21st. And then starting September 7, all unvaccinated employees and those not fully vaccinated had to do the weekly – submit a weekly negative test to their immediate supervisor before or on each Friday until they were fully vaccinated. And if they were under a reasonable accommodation request, they needed to continue that negative weekly testing.

Charity Russell: What we're doing is we're having all of our staff on November 15 either turn in an exemption or medical waiver so that we are notified that they are obviously their first vaccination so that we know that obviously they're in the process of vaccination or they're resigning their position because they – we've already been told several positions are being resigned. We are in jeopardy of a couple of sites being closed in rural Arizona. What that does is that affords us to advertise for positions in those communities. That buys us a little bit of time. And what we've done is we've provided language hoping that they'll change their mind, right, like she was saying. They'll see that we are serious, and we're advertising their position and that gives them time to see if they get through the exemption process.

Kathy Parson: When we talk to them and somebody calls, and they're so frustrated at a situation or something, and we let them do that. We let them vent, and they just kind of will calm down. If I've had to talk to somebody. I keep an open-door policy, and somebody will call upset about something and just really irate, or we go out to a center and talk to staff. “The thing that drives me crazy.” They’ll be really mad. We can bring them right down. And they always say, “We know it's not us. We know it's the situation, and we really appreciate everything that we're doing for each other.”

Jonathan Hale: Now, the nation is moving forward to recognize these more or less notifications that we, as far as individuals with the Navajo Nation, as far as its employees have received our inoculations. And we show these little badges to go about our daily work lives, our businesses with other departments. We go to various offices or other governmental entities. In this case, Head Start is facilitated at various chapters and/or within public schools. We have this to ensure those people there that, yes, we received our inoculations, and we're protecting ourselves, as well as thinking about other people on the other side.

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