COVID-19 Safety and Vaccination Updates
The health and safety of families and caregivers is our top priority. We always taking precautions to prevent the spread of infectious viruses, but COVID-19 presents unique challenges. We’ve assembled the following FAQ’s to help you make the most informed decisions for you and your loved ones.
Frequently Asked Questions on Caregiver Vaccinations
Care.com Digital
Care does not mandate or verify the gathering of health information for any type of vaccinations (Flu, Measles, COVID-19). Sharing this information is at the election of the family and the caregiver. We value equity and are careful not to unfairly disadvantage families and caregivers who are not comfortable sharing their personal health information publicly. Instead, we provide the tools to communicate prior to hiring and strongly suggest that both families and caregivers inquire about the status of vaccination if that is a determining factor for hiring. We have compiled a helpful interview guide for the hiring process and armed our caregivers with pointers on how to respond to parents requests. You can find the guide here.
Backup Care:
Caregivers may volunteer vaccination information but Care does not mandate or verify health information for any type of vaccinations (Flu, Measles, COVID-19). Sharing this information is at the election of the family and the caregiver. We value equity and are careful not to unfairly disadvantage families and caregivers who are not comfortable sharing their personal health information publicly.
You may add a preference when requesting a caregiver and we will attempt to match based on the vaccinated criteria however, we don’t require a vaccination or mandate the sharing of personal health information from either the family or the caregiver.
At this time, caregivers are not required to be vaccinated to provide BUC services.
If anyone in your household may have been exposed to COVID-19 (coronavirus) or is experiencing symptoms, we require a 14-day wait period since last possible exposure before requesting Child or Adult Backup Care. When you request Backup Care, you will need to confirm that no member of your household has the virus or is within this precautionary wait period. And, we need to be notified if there are any health changes in your household between the time you request care and the day the care is taking place.
In the case of actual infection, per CDC guidelines, we will require you to confirm that you have been both symptom-free for 7 days and fever-free (without any fever-reducing medications) for 3 days.
To avoid the spread of contagious disease, we cannot provide Backup Care to any person who has a fever above 100 degrees. What precautions have you taken regarding the health of your caregivers in your Backup Care network?
As it relates to COVID-19, we are requiring our care providers to adhere to the CDC-recommended best practices described here. This includes:
- Taking their temperature before they leave to go to any job to confirm they are fever-free (100 degrees or above) and letting Care.com know if they are not feeling well;
- Using preventive hygiene and washing their hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, for at least 20 seconds, when they arrive at a job and throughout the day;
- Wearing a face covering for the duration of a Backup Care job.
- The caregiver will reach out to the family in advance of when the care takes place to let the family know that they will be arriving wearing a face covering – and throughout the duration of care – and ensure that there has been no change in the household’s health status since they booked the care.
- We ask that families do their part in maintaining a safe environment by adhering to the 6-foot social distancing guidelines and wearing masks when possible.