November 28, 2022

Dear JCC Friends,

As we have shared with you before even the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Allegheny County, the health and safety of our members, guests, and professional staff is the JCC’s top priority.

For over 2 ½ years, we have followed the science and the ongoing guidance from our panel of medical experts and national and local health authorities.  Our approach has enabled us to serve thousands of you throughout our region – in-person and virtually – adapting and modifying programming and health and safety procedures along the way. Our Covid-19 protocols were designed and implemented to be open-ended, with changes informed by infection rates, transmission data, new coronavirus variants, and local, state, or federal regulations, and intended initially to mitigate the risk of community spread of the virus and most recently to reduce the likelihood of serious illness.

It is increasingly evident that we have emerged to a new phase of response to the worldwide pandemic. While Covid-19 and its multiple variants will remain for the foreseeable future, high vaccination rates have successfully reduced hospitalizations and death across the region. Our JCC community – members, guests, and professional staff – have contributed greatly to our region’s response to the pandemic and we thank you for your cooperation over these many months.

With this in mind, effective December 1, 2022, the JCC is modifying its current policy and will not  require demonstrating proof of Covid-19 vaccination to enter our facilities and participate in JCC sponsored programs and activities.  We continue to strongly recommend that JCC members and guests be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and seasonal flu and will continue to work with local providers in scheduling regular vaccination clinics. We remain steadfast in our efforts to minimize community spread by reminding our guests to continue to self-monitor for symptoms of Covid-19 and not to enter our facilities if experiencing symptoms.  Our vaccination policy remains open-ended and may be revised for the protection of our members, staff and guests to the extent the current conditions related to COVID or other health risks change in any way.

If you have further questions, we encourage you to read our FAQs that provide greater details about our decision making.

Again, we thank you for your continued support through this unprecedented public health challenge and your support with our efforts to safeguard the health and well-being of our Greater Pittsburgh community.

Brian Schreiber, President & CEO

Scott E. Seewald,  Board Chair

• Why are vaccinations for COVID-19 no longer required?
  It is increasingly evident that we are no longer in the emergency stage of the pandemic. With many tools beyond just a vaccine now more easily accessible to keep our community safe, we have in fact moved to a new phase of the public health response to COVID-19. While the virus and its multiple variants will remain for the foreseeable future, high vaccination rates have successfully reduced hospitalizations and death across the region. Although vaccines are no longer required at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, we continue to strongly recommend that JCC members and guests be fully vaccinated/boosted for COVID-19 and seasonal flu, and we will continue to work with local providers in scheduling regular vaccination clinics. We remain steadfast in our efforts to minimize community spread by reminding our guests to continue to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and not to enter our facilities if experiencing symptoms.
• Will this change in policy be permanent?
  While it is unlikely that we will revert to requiring members and guests to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19, our COVID-19 protocols remain open-ended, with changes to be informed by infection rates, transmission data, new coronavirus variants, and local, state, or federal regulations, and intended to reduce the likelihood of serious illness and death.

Learn more about Covid-19

Centers for Disease Control

Allegheny County

July 18, 2022

Dear JCC Families,

As you have come to expect from the JCC, the health and safety of our members, guests, and professional staff is our top priority. Consistent with our mission, we remain resolute in this commitment for as long as it takes our community to fully emerge from the pandemic. We are inspired by the Jewish value of pikuach nefesh (saving of a life) and our longstanding tradition that the preservation of human life takes precedence over other practices.

JCC leadership continues to review additional ways to better support community well-being and enhance mitigation of COVID-19 exposure and potential virus spread. With this in mind, and with the support of the JCC Board of Directors, we announce that effective October 17, 2022, JCC members and guests ages 6 months – 4 years old will also be required to provide one-time proof of vaccination to gain access to all facilities and programs under our direct supervision.

Many of you are most likely aware that on June 18, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children ages 6 months – 4 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna pediatric vaccine. We have intentionally provided a prolonged window of time to allow adequate opportunity for all of our families to have their children vaccinated and to account for the additional two-week period following the final dose of each vaccination series in order for one to be considered “fully vaccinated.” When your child is fully vaccinated, please bring their proof of vaccination the next time you stop in at the JCC.

How to show proof of vaccination:
 Parent or caregiver must present proof in person only – cannot be mailed or emailed
 You only need to show proof one time
You can present your child’s Vaccine Card, a photocopy of the card, or a digital version on your mobile phone, or a record from your child’s healthcare provider showing that they received their vaccination.

All along, we have believed and followed the science and the ongoing guidance from our panel of medical experts and national and local health authorities. Each operational component to our multi-phased reopening has been rigorously pressure tested by our colleagues at the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, a nationally recognized expert in quality improvement in healthcare and community settings. This methodical and well-informed approach has enabled us to serve thousands of you throughout our region – in-person and mostly without interruption – over the previous 25+ months as we adapt to changing conditions and modify programming and health and safety procedures along the way.

We recognize that not everyone will agree with our decision, but it has become increasingly clear that our community’s health is better served when everyone becomes vaccinated and that a large number of unvaccinated people worldwide allows for the pandemic to continue and the virus to mutate. Our commitment to community frames everything we do. This decision is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association.

We thank you for your continued cooperation as we work together to support each other through this extended public health challenge and do our utmost to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our area.

Brian Schreiber, President & CEO

William S. Goodman, Board Chair

February 27, 2022

Dear JCC Friend,

Throughout the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have done our utmost to serve you and our community with health and safety, the JCC’s top priority.

Informed by medical experts and guidance of the CDC and local health authorities, we have successfully served people of all ages and abilities in our facilities for nearly 24 months to the best of our ability.

With your cooperation, we have created a welcoming vaccinated environment for members, staff and guests entering our facilities.

On Friday afternoon, the CDC issued updated guidance, noting that “current high levels of vaccination and high levels of population immunity from both vaccination and infections, the risk of medically significant disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 is greatly reduced for most people.”  The CDC is now monitoring Covid 19 by Community Level , a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data.

With this in mind and after reviewing the current CDC Community Level assessment of Allegheny County, the JCC is pleased to announce the following changes effective Tuesday, March 1.

• The JCC will eliminate the requirement of mask wearing indoors for individuals ages 5 or older.
• The indoor mask mandate will continue for participants and staff within our Early Childhood Development Centers and the Clubhouse after school program.  These programs serve both a population not yet eligible for vaccination and work closely with schools whose indoor masking practices have not changed at this time.
• The mask requirement will also remain in effect within PT at the JCC – Powered by the JAA.
• We strongly encourage those of you who are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19 or feel more comfortable wearing masks indoors to continue to do so. The JCC has a supply of masks available at your request.
• The JCC continues to follow regular cleaning protocols, HEPA fan/filtration units, and enhanced HVAC systems indoors that allow for increased outside air flow.
• The JCC will continue to offer a combination of indoor and outdoor group exercise activities at this time to support the varied wants of our members.

We will continue to regularly monitor CDC guidance and the evolving local condition and communicate with you of any changes to our current policy.
Our vaccination policy remains unchanged.

We thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we work together on the next phase of community service in our 127^th year of operation.

Brian Schreiber, President & CEO
William S. Goodman, Board Chair

December 7, 2021

Dear JCC Families,

As we have shared with you before even the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Allegheny County, the health and safety of our members, guests, and professional staff is the JCC’s top priority. Consistent with our mission, we remain resolute in this commitment for as long as it takes our community to fully emerge from the pandemic. We are inspired by the Jewish value of pikuach nefesh (saving of a life) and our longstanding tradition that the preservation of human life takes precedence over other practices.

Effective October 18, 2021, the JCC began requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for all members, staff and guest ages 12 years and older. The process has gone exceptionally well, with thousands of JCC members and guests providing one-time proof of vaccination for seamless access to our facilities every day.

JCC leadership continues to review additional ways to better support community well-being and enhance mitigation of COVID-19 exposure and potential virus spread. With this in mind, and with the unanimous support of the JCC Board of Directors, we announce the following new requirement:

Children ages 5-11:
As parents, you are most likely aware that on November 2, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children ages 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.

Effective February 7, 2022, JCC members and guests ages 5-11 years old will also be required to provide one-time proof of vaccination to gain access to all facilities and programs under our direct supervision.
We have intentionally provided this window of time to allow adequate opportunity for all of our families to have their children vaccinated and to account for the additional two-week period following the second dose in order for one to be considered “fully vaccinated.” When your child is fully vaccinated, please bring their proof of vaccination the next time you stop in at the JCC.

How to show proof of vaccination:
Parent or caregiver must present proof in person only – cannot be mailed or emailed
You only need to show proof one time
You can present your child’s Vaccine Card, a photocopy of the card, or a digital version on your mobile phone, or a record from your child’s healthcare provider showing that they received their vaccination.

We encourage you to click on our FAQs that provide greater detail about how we plan to implement the member/guest vaccination requirement and the limited exemptions that will be made available.

All along, we have believed and followed the science and the ongoing guidance from our panel of medical experts and national and local health authorities. Each operational component to our multi-phased reopening has been rigorously pressure tested by our colleagues at the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, a nationally recognized expert in quality improvement in healthcare and community settings. This methodical and well-informed approach has enabled us to serve thousands of you throughout our region – in-person and mostly without interruption – for more than 20 months as we adapt to changing conditions and modify programming and health and safety procedures along the way.

We recognize that not everyone will agree with our decision, but it has become increasingly clear that our community’s health is better served when everyone becomes vaccinated and that a large number of unvaccinated people worldwide allows for the pandemic to continue and the virus to mutate. Our commitment to community frames everything we do. This decision is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association.

We thank you for your continued cooperation as we work together to support each other through this extended public health challenge and do our utmost to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our area.

Brian Schreiber, President & CEO

William S. Goodman, Board Chair

August 25, 2021

Dear JCC Friends,

As we have shared with you before even the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Allegheny County, the health and safety of our members, guests, and professional staff is the JCC’s top priority.  Consistent with our mission, we remain resolute in this commitment for as long as it takes our community to fully emerge from the pandemic.  We are inspired by the Jewish value of pikuach nefesh (saving of a life) and our longstanding tradition that the preservation of human life takes precedence over other practices.

All along, we have believed and followed the science and the ongoing guidance from our panel of medical experts and national and local health authorities. Each operational component to our multi-phased reopening has been rigorously pressure tested by our colleagues at the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, a nationally recognized expert in quality improvement in healthcare and community settings.  This methodical and well-informed approach has enabled us to serve thousands of you throughout our region – in-person and without interruption – for over 15 months as we adapt and modify programming and health and safety procedures along the way.

Our latest announcement on August 3^rd requiring face masks for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals while indoors at the JCC is expected to continue until Allegheny County falls below the high or substantial community transmission rate.

Since that announcement, our leadership has carefully reviewed additional ways to better support community well-being and enhance mitigation of Covid-19 exposure and potential virus spread.  With this in mind, and with the unanimous support of the JCC Board of Directors last week, we announce the following new requirements:

• JCC Employees:   Effective October 18, 2021, all current full-time and part-time staff will be required to provide proof of vaccination as a condition of their employment with the agency.  While more than 95% of our employees are fully vaccinated (far greater than Allegheny County’s current adult vaccination rate of 64.5%), we believe this measure offers the best mitigation strategy available to us in addition to the current indoor mask requirement.  Effective immediately, all new JCC employees must be vaccinated to secure employment with the agency.
• JCC Members/Guests:   Effective October 18, 2021, JCC members and guests over age 12 will need to show proof of vaccination to gain access to indoor health and fitness facilities and other programs under our direct supervision.  We have intentionally provided this window of time to encourage those of you who are long-standing JCC members and have yet to be vaccinated or those of you who have not yet made the decision to vaccinate your adolescent children the opportunity to do so at your earliest convenience before we can no longer serve you in the manner you have been afforded until now.

These vaccination policies will be implemented as open-ended, with any changes or reversals informed by updates relating to infection rates, transmission data, variant developments, and local, state, or federal regulations.

We encourage you to click on our FAQs that provide greater detail about how we plan to implement the member/guest vaccination requirement and the limited exemptions that will be made available.  We also note that JCC services provided through a contract with the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging will not require proof of vaccination as a condition of service, though we strongly recommend older adults registered for the senior center be vaccinated and other programs within the JCC will require older adults be vaccinated to participate.

We recognize that not everyone will agree with our decision, but it has become increasingly clear that our community’s health is better served when everyone becomes vaccinated and that a large number of unvaccinated people worldwide allows for the pandemic to continue and the virus to mutate.  Our commitment to community frames everything we do. This decision is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association and similar mandates are being implemented in an increasing number of leading employers and service providers nationwide.

We thank you for your continued cooperation as we work together to support each other through this extended public health challenge and do our utmost to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in our area.

Brian Schreiber, President & CEO

William S. Goodman, Board Chair

Read the op-ed The Imperative to Preserve and Safeguard Life – Why Two JCCs Announced Vaccine Requirements, by Brian Schreiber and Dava Schub, HERE