Lab Members receive COVID vaccinations: Update to our Guidelines

Many members of the King Lab have now been fully vaccinated! The speed with which a highly effective vaccine has been developed and deployed is an incredible scientific achievement. Case counts in Columbia have also been declining in recent months. Thus, we are revising our lab guidelines accordingly in response to both these events.

• Our lab will continue to be an example of best practices no matter what is happening in other labs.

Remote & In Person Work

• Anyone who is able to work remotely still has the option to continue working remotely if they wish.

• Performing in person work is purely voluntary. If you wish to return to in person work, you must communicate this to Dr. King, and work with her to submit a formal request for approval. We will strictly follow the University of Missouri Behavior Guidance During Pandemic.

• Under no circumstances should you come to work (or go anywhere) if you are sick or have any COVID-19 symptoms. You should also not have any contact with other lab members. This is always the case but is especially important as we try to slow the spread of COVID-19.

• When working in person, you must still maintain a 6 ft distance from others. You must wear a cloth mask anytime you are in the same space as another person. You may wear your own mask provided it follows CDC guidelines, otherwise, the lab will provide one for you. Wash your hands often and occasionally disinfect any shared surfaces you have used with 70% ethanol including door and cabinet handles.

• When in lab, please check in on the #inlab Slack channel so that if we do have a COVID-19 case, we can trace any contacts.

• If you are responsible for any lab work and you become ill, become aware of exposure, or are concerned about an increased risk to yourself or someone you have regular contact with, do not come to the lab and please communicate with the lab so we can cover your lab work (back up people are on our schedule). I know we are all committed to helping each other through this. Please ask for help before trying to take care of labwork yourself if any of these things are true for you.

• I hope we all feel we can talk openly about this and how it might impact us or our work. Let's support each other, remain flexible in our plans, and to be ready for changes to the situation. Remember, prepare, don’t panic.