Los Alamos National Laboratory employees who can provide proof that they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 will not have to submit to mandatory random screenings for the viral disease, lab leadership said.
In a May 17 email to employees, Kathy Segala, associate laboratory director for capital projects, said Los Alamos personnel can skip out on COVID-19 tests only if they provide a copy of their vaccination card.
Those who were vaccinated on premises were automatically exempted from the mandatory random screenings the lab has conducted for about a year now. Anyone who was vaccinated offsite was given an “urgent request” to turn a copy of the their vaccination records over to occupational medicine, according to Segala’s email.
“Even workers who are teleworking will be periodically tested if they have not been vaccinated,” Segala wrote. “If you were vaccinated off-site and haven’t sent your card to OccMed, you will be treated as an unvaccinated worker.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy has eased its agency-wide rules about mask use for the fully vaccinated, including for contractors, according to a newsletter prepared by DOE headquarters.
“In accordance with the CDC’s [Center for Disease Control’s] Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, fully vaccinated Federal employees, contractors, and visitors entering or working at a DOE site/facility are not required to wear masks while in DOE buildings or in DOE leased spaces,” the newsletter reads.
Also according to the newsletter, DOE “strongly encourages all employees” to get vaccinated and has arranged for up to two days of paid administrative leave for federal employees who experience any of the well-documented side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. According tot he CDC, these can include fatigue, headache and temporary COVID or flu-like symptoms.
