Dear ACC Student,
We continue to track the changes in state and local guidelines related to COVID-19 including the California Department of Public Health’s announcement requiring workers in a health care setting to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021 (click here). However, some clinical sites may require full vaccination prior to that date.
A worker is defined as all paid and unpaid individuals who work in indoor settings (1) where care is provided to patients, (2) or they have access to patients for any purpose. To become compliant with the deadline, all workers who provide services or work in facilities must have either their first dose of a one-dose regimen or their second dose of a two-dose regimen by September 30, 2021.
Please note an individual is not considered fully vaccinated until after two weeks from receiving Johnson and Johnson single-shot or the Pfizer/Moderna two-dose. We recommend the latest you obtain the second dose or single Johnson and Johnson is September 16, 2021.
We can’t emphasize enough that the overwhelming majority of our clinical partners and externship partners are now requiring the vaccine. Given the trend we are seeing, we expect that all partners will ultimately mandate the vaccine.
While American Career College does not require students to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination, we must comply, as always, with our clinical partners’ policies for students working in their facilities for direct care hours and externship requirements. Our clinical and externship partners’ rules and regulations are in place to ensure their patients’ safety. These include immunization requirements as stated in the clinical and externship partner requirements policy that is shared with and acknowledged by all students during the admissions process.
ACC understands that vaccination is a personal choice, and we will make every effort to locate a clinical site and externship partners for students declining the COVID-19 vaccine, however, the College cannot guarantee site placement. As a result, a lack of meeting site clinical compliance requirements may seriously impact your ability to progress in the program. It is imperative that American Career College students are prepared to step into any clinical facility and externship we partner with, while meeting that partner’s clinical and externship requirements, in order to obtain essential skills and complete their direct patient care requirements as set forth in our curriculum.
Please feel free to contact your clinical team if you have any questions. If you need assistance locating a vaccination site, please contact student services.
