The Medical Center has updated their guidance for employees and healthcare students who have had a household COVID exposure. Household exposures create the highest risk for acquisition of COVID. In compliance with CDC recommendations, asymptomatic testing is recommended for vaccinated and unvaccinated healthcare students who have a household exposure. Students with a household exposure may continue to work while masked if they remain asymptomatic but should follow the new VUMC testing rules recently implemented for employees.
Students should do home tests on days 1 and 3 after their contact's symptom onset (which is day 0). A PCR test should be done on day 5 at the Student Health Center. If day 5 falls on a Saturday, the student should have the PCR test on the Friday afternoon. If day 5 falls on a Sunday, the test should be done on Monday morning. Please email studenthealth@vumc.org to notify Student Health of your household exposure and the need for Day 5 PCR testing. You will then be contacted via My Health at Vanderbilt regarding your testing.
If the day 1 or day 3 home test is positive, the student should complete the positive case reporting webform. If the day 5 PCR test is positive, the Student Health Center will notify the VU Command Center on your behalf and provide guidance regarding your isolation.
Symptomatic students should continue to follow prior guidance---to test at home and report positives to the webform, or schedule PCR testing at Student Health or other off-campus locations.