Related Content: State Public Health Officer Order of August 11, 2021

Due to trends and risks presented by the Delta Variant, combined with the current unavailability of a COVID vaccine for students under the age of 12, CDPH has issued a State Health Officer Order requiring all California school workers to either show proof of being fully vaccinated or participate in regular COVID-19 testing.

Pursuant to the CDPH Guidance for Vaccine Records Guidelines & Standards, only the following modes may be used as proof of vaccination:

1. COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention or WHO Yellow Card) which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided and date last dose administered); OR

2. a photo of a Vaccination Record Card as a separate document; OR

3. a photo of the client's Vaccination Record Card stored on a phone or electronic device; OR

4. documentation of COVID-19 vaccination from a health care provider; OR

5. digital record that includes a QR code that when scanned by a SMART Health Card reader displays to the reader client name, date of birth, vaccine dates and vaccine type; OR

6. documentation of vaccination from other contracted employers who follow these vaccination records guidelines and standards.

Testing requirements:

A. Asymptomatic unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers are required to undergo diagnostic screening testing.

B. Workers may be tested with either antigen or molecular tests to satisfy this requirement, but unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers must be tested at least once weekly with either PCR testing or antigen testing. Any PCR (molecular) or antigen test used must either have Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or be operating per the Laboratory Developed Test requirements by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

C. Unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers must also observe all other infection control requirements, and are not exempted from the testing requirement even if they have a medical contraindication to vaccination, since they are still potentially able to spread the illness. Previous history of COVID-19 from which the individual recovered more than 90 days earlier, or a previous positive antibody test for COVID-19, do not waive this requirement for testing.

D. Schools with workers required to undergo workplace diagnostic screening testing should have a plan in place for tracking test results and conducting workplace contact tracing, and must report results to local public health departments. There are IT platforms available that can facilitate these processes for schools.

For more detailed information and further inquiry, read the Full State Public Health Officer Order Vaccine Verification for Workers in Schools August 11, 2021