01/21/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/21/2022 13:59
Summary of Recent Changes
Revised to align with CDC recommendations for people who are up to date with their vaccines.
Key Points
General Guidance
This guidance is to address the general safety concerns of laboratory personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. All laboratories should perform site- and activity-specific risk assessments to determine the most appropriate safety measures to implement for particular circumstances. In addition, facilities should adhere to local policies and procedures and all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and public health guidelines.
Risk assessments should include the following considerations:
Every institution should have a COVID-19 health and safety plan to protect employees. This plan should be shared with all staff. Ideally, this plan would:
Ensure that employees have access to personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectant products that meet the EPA's criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2external icon , soap, clean running water, and drying materials for handwashing, or alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol.
Face Masks
Staff who are up to date with their vaccines
Staff who are up to date with their vaccines should wear a well-fitting mask when in an area of substantial or high transmission of COVID-19. This helps protect staff from SARS-CoV-2 variants and prevents spreading it to others. Staff who are up to date with their vaccines might choose to wear a well-fitting mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe diseasepdf icon from COVID-19. They may also choose to wear a well-fitting mask if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease, or not up to date with their vaccines. In addition, staff should continue to wear a well-fitting mask where required by laws, rules, regulations, or local guidance.
Staff who are not up to date with their vaccines
CDC recommends staff who are unvaccinated or not up to date with their vaccines to wear a well-fitting mask and physically distance, especially when indoors around people who don't live in your household. This includes office spaces, computer workstations, and break rooms. In general, employees who are not up to date with their vaccines should wear a well-fitting mask in laboratory spaces that do not have requirements for respiratory PPE and where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
Any face mask worn inside a laboratory area where personnel works with potentially infectious material should subsequently not be worn outside of that laboratory area. Laboratory PPE are critical supplies, and employees should refrain from removing them from the laboratory for general use. Site- and activity-specific risk assessments, as well as available resources, should determine where specific facial protection, such as disposable masks, should be used and how to dispose of them. These face masks should not be used in place of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE).
Staff should wash their hands before putting on face masks and minimize mask removal while in the laboratory. The guidance below describes how to remove a face mask and replace it with a clean face mask:
Depending on the facility's design or configuration, additional physical barriers, such as a face shield, plexiglass, partition, or plastic barriers, may be needed to achieve physical distancing goals in settings with unvaccinated staff or staff who are not up to date with their vaccines.
Personal Hygiene and Disinfection
As more workers return to the laboratory, extra measures may be needed to ensure a clean and appropriate environment. Reevaluate current protocols for cleaning, use of PPE, and handwashing. High-touch surfaces and equipment present a higher probability of contamination in the work area and should be disinfected frequently. Increasing the number of available cleaning supplies and distributing them throughout the laboratory can encourage staff to clean surfaces and equipment more frequently.
Use visual reminders, such as posters displayed throughout the laboratory environment, common areas, and restrooms to emphasize the importance of hand hygiene and to encourage frequent handwashing. Hands should be washed regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol can be used when soap and water are unavailable. For more information, see CDC's Hand Hygiene Recommendations.
Previous Updates
Updates as of August 15th, 2021
Updates as of July 15th, 2021
For additional information, refer to the following:
OSHA information for all employers and workers:
CDC COVID-19 resources:
CDC Laboratory Safety Resources