Lab Members receive COVID vaccinations: Additional updates 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. The CDC has also updated its guidance for vaccinated individuals. Thus, we are revising our lab guidelines accordingly in response to 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. If you have concerns regarding the updates to our guidelines, please set up a time to talk to me about planning out a remote working schedule.

  • Vaccinated individuals may choose not to wear a mask in the lab, as indicated by CDC guidelines. Individuals that are not vaccinated must follow the following guidelines: You must 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. Please ask for help before trying to take care of labwork yourself if any of these things are true for you.

  • Follow practices that prevent disease transmission. 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.

  • 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.

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King Lab
Evolutionary Genetics & Genomics