With Covid-19 infection rates tapering off, many parts of the country have walked back mandates related to masks and vaccines. Regardless, the reality is that employers should continue to track Covid-related health data. Here’s why. 

1. To Prevent an Outbreak

At the onset of the pandemic, in-person gatherings were largely banned throughout the country. The goal of this was to mitigate outbreaks, that is, an increase in the spread of Covid-19. Especially for larger employers, this risk hasn’t changed. One infected worker can potentially cause your entire workforce to get sick.

In addition to masking, cleaning, and distancing when possible, one of the most effective ways to prevent workplace outbreaks is by tracking employee vaccination data. When your HR department can accurately monitor employee testing and vaccination records, they can more efficiently limit contact with infected or vulnerable parties and prevent outbreaks. 

2. To Protect Vulnerable Employees

For vaccinated people, the risk of Covid-related death is significantly lower; however, people with auto-immune, respiratory, or other pre-existing conditions may still be vulnerable to increased rates of Covid-related morbidity. 

Tracking vaccination data is one of the few ways in which we can protect these groups of people. Knowing which employees aren’t vaccinated can help you more effectively structure your workplace environment to keep vulnerable workers safe from infection. 

3. To React Appropriately to Covid Positive Employees

An employer vaccine tracking system is incomplete without a plan of action for confirmed Covid cases. When an employee tests positive, you’ll need safety protocols to direct a coordinated response. 

Based on CDC guidelines, you should do the following when an employee tests positive for Covid-19:

• Bar the infected employee from the workplace (allowing telework, if possible) until they test negative.
• Clean and disinfect any and all surfaces that the infected party came into contact with.
• Inform employees that may have come into contact with the infected person, and instruct them to quarantine for 5 days while monitoring any Covid symptoms. 

During this process, it’s important to remember that you need to keep the identity of the infected person confidential. Otherwise, you could risk violating HIPAA guidelines. 

How to Track Vaccine Data

Reacting quickly to the initial onset of Covid-19, many employers developed their own rudimentary systems for tracking and monitoring vaccination data––often through a spreadsheet. However, methods like this lack the security, flexibility, and monitoring capabilities of a dedicated vaccination tracking platform. 

ConfirmD is a turnkey enterprise solution for collecting and tracking Covid-related health data of employees. Compliant under CCPA guidelines, ConfirmD enables employees to store vaccination records directly on their smartphones. Employers can then access this vital information through a dashboard, effectively streamlining the tracking process. 

To ensure the safety of your workers and the continued success of your team in the post-pandemic world, ConfirmD provides simple and secure vaccination tracking.