Second Chance: Get Your Flu Shot at HSE

From October 12 – 23, HSE University employees and students will once again have the opportunity to get a free flu shot. Read on to learn about the options that are available to employees who must get vaccinated or submit alternative documentation (a recusal certificate or written refusal) by October 30. Though students are not required to get a flu shot, they are highly encouraged to do so.

First (and Simplest) Option: Get vaccinated on campus

Flu shots will be administered in HSE buildings and dormitories. The vaccination schedule will be available on the Office of Staff and Student Benefits page and sent to employees via their HSE email accounts.

All HSE employees (including those on part-time contracts), their family members, and students over 18 years of age may get vaccinated. On the day when vaccinations will be administered in your building, all you need is your passport and your medical insurance policy (or if you are an international employee, your ID).

Before administering the vaccination, a doctor will take your temperature and conduct a brief medical examination in order to identify any risk factors that would lead to a negative reaction from the vaccine.

Second Option: Get vaccinated at a medical clinic of your choice

If you choose this option, you must send certification of your having been vaccinated (the document must bear the official seal of the doctor and the stamp of the clinic) to the Office of Staff and Student Benefits (social@hse.ru) by October 30.

Third Option: Obtain a medical exemption on the grounds of underlying medical condition

If you are unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons, notify the Office of Staff and Student Benefits and provide a supporting document (i.e., a medical exemption). The paper should indicate the period during which it is recommended that you do not get vaccinated.

If the medical exemption is temporary but precludes you from getting vaccinated by October 30, 2020, you can get vaccinated once the exemption period ends. Beginning October 30, you will either be transferred to remote work or suspended until further notice.

If your medical exemption is unlimited, you may work remotely with the approval of your unit manager. Remote work requests will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Option 4. Write a statement of refusal to get vaccinated for personal reasons

According to Russian federal law (clause 1 of Article 5 of the Federal Law of 17.09.1998 No. 157-FZ ‘On Immunization of Infectious Diseases’), getting vaccinated is voluntary, and everyone has the right to refuse to do so. If you wish to forego vaccination for personal reasons, you must submit a written statement to the head of your programme or department unit indicating your reasons.

If an employee of an educational institution chooses not to get vaccinated, then, under federal law, the employer is obliged to suspend that employee from work without pay (paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Federal Law of 17.09.1998 No. 157-FZ ‘On Immunization of Infectious Diseases’, article 76 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

HSE University understands that this is a harsh measure. Therefore, the University will provide employees with alternative arrangements for fulfilling their professional duties. If the employee’s manager believes that the employee can work remotely, and that this will not affect the quality of their work, then the employee can be transferred to a remote mode of work until further notice.

Beginning November 1, 2020, the University will freeze all electronic HSE ID cards of employees who have not been vaccinated.

September 30, 2020