Health care settings, including dental offices, must continue to follow guidelines as outlined in Proclamation 20-24.2 “Reducing Restrictions on, and Safe Expansion of, Non-Urgent Medical and Dental Procedures,” which remains in effect. 

A detailed summary of Proclamation 20-24.2 is available for all WSDA members here.

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Workers in private health care (including dental offices) and long-term care settings, in addition to most state workers, contractors, and volunteers, must be fully vaccinated with a recommended COVID-19 vaccine. 

WSDA has created sample religious and medical accommodation forms for members. While these forms were reviewed by WSDA legal counsel, members should review these forms and the legal disclosure in their entirety before determining if or how they should be used.

Learn more at wsda.org/vaccine.

On Dec. 23, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 guidance for health care workers, stratifying the guidance to take into consideration symptom severity, immune status and test results (see Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2).

This blog post covers key takeaways from the ADA and DOH regarding the updated CDC guidance.

The DOH has put together a resource document that includes a chart on page two that summarizes the CDC’s recommendations for when health care personnel may need to quarantine/be excluded from work depending on exposure, vaccination status, and workforce capacity.

In addition to the resource document, under its Healthcare Facility FAQs page, the DOH advises healthcare facilities to contact their local department of health about staff exposed to COVID-19 and follow any testing/quarantine advice from local health departments.