Final Update: Please give a big thank you to Legislator Robert Trotta for finally getting to the bottom of the hospital vs school debate over the origins of this vaccination policy. St. Charles hospital will only consider exemptions on a case by case basis and has finally decided to mandate the shot. We ask again that if you go forward with vaccination to please write on the photocopy of the card that you give to the school that it was not voluntary. Thank you so much to everyone who pitched in and for all your support.

NEW UPDATE: Please email NYS Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio with your support. She wants to help and would like to hear from as many students as possible. You can make a difference! dohertj@nyassembly.gov

UPDATE: The school has rejected all of our reasonable proposals even though less than what we’ve offered has been more than sufficient for this entire past year. The next step we are taking is to submit a FOIL, freedom of information request, to SCCC’s legal department for more information and to see the full policy in writing because it does not appear on any website page, policy, or handbook. We ask that if you choose to go forward with vaccination please write directly on the photocopy of the card you send to the school that you received it under duress and threat of expulsion from the program. Please make it clear that it was not voluntary. Any further updates will continue to be posted to this page. Thank you.

Dear Dr. Cheryl Shaffer Associate Dean for Nursing,

Us students, some already vaccinated against covid some not, are reaching out to you today to propose reasonable science-based alternatives to the covid vaccination as we are categorically against the blanket mandate that has been imposed upon us.

Some alternates that we envisioned are: covid testing, covid screening tools, wearing an n95 mask at clincal sites, and carrying our own personal liability insurance. These are just suggestions, and we are willing to work with any reasonable proposals or recommendations. These evidenced-based practices will more than mitigate any risk the school or site may have, even more so than a vaccine would.

We believe it is reasonable to ask for this accommodation on the basis that the covid vaccine is still under emergency use approval. We have reached out to the HR departments of all the hospitals listed as clinical sites next semester and we have received the same response from each and every one of them. They say that it is not their requirement therefore it must be our school, which makes sense as it is not a current requirement for the very employees of these aforementioned sites.

So, in light of this information we implore you to talk with your points of contact, with whom you organize these clinical arrangements or with whom the source of this policy is coming from, to ask for these very reasonable, cost effective accommodations, or to please pass along their contact information so our legal representatives can reach out directly.

Thank you.