Troop 171 COVID-19 Information

Troop 171 COVID-19 Safety Policy

Effective January 24, 2022

Link to current policy letter

When we created the following policy, we have taken into account current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National and District Scouts BSA, state and local governments, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), and other youth organizations.

We are guided by something we hope all can appreciate: we should do all we can to keep Troop 171B and Troop 171G Scouts and adults safe. For that reason, we have adopted the following policies.


  • Vaccination: To the highest degree, we strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 (defined below) and, given the recent CDC reports, we strongly encourage everyone to get a booster dose.


Many organizations across the country are requiring individuals to be fully vaccinated. We may consider putting in place this requirement in the future depending on the rate of COVID-19 infections and the CDC recommendations.


Please consult the current guidance from the CDC website to determine what needs to be done to be considered fully vaccinated: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines.html


Fully vaccinated: Fully vaccinated according to the CDC guidelines updated on January 7, 2022 is two primary doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one primary dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.


Booster doses: The CDC guidelines updated on January 7, 2022 states individuals SHOULD get a booster dose based on (1) the vaccine brand received as their initial vaccine and (2) their age. As stated above, we strongly encourage everyone to get a booster dose.


Note: Certain long distance or remote trips such as Spring Break Adventures, Flaming Gorge Summer Camp, and High Adventures may require Scouts and adults to be fully vaccinated. This will be determined by the severity of COVID-19 prior to the trip and the medical resources available at the trip’s destination. For these trips, if full vaccinations are required, booster doses will be strongly encouraged.


  • Masks: When masks are required, surgical masks, N-95 masks, or KN-95 masks are now strongly encouraged to be worn by everyone, because they have been shown to be much more effective in preventing COVID-19 than other masks.


  • Testing: We strongly urge that everyone take advantage of the various COVID-19 testing opportunities through BVSD and other sites.


For extended and remote trips, pre-trip tests will be required based on the protocols developed by Philmont Scout Ranch <https://www.philmontscoutranch.org/covid-19-mitigation/>.


  • Documentation: When you are asked to provide your current vaccination status and/or vaccination card, please promptly provide that information.

To keep everyone safe, we will adhere to the following safe practices.


Tenting

Scouts and adults will:

  1. Tent individually in their own tent, bivvy, or hammock; or

  2. Tent with one other Scout who is fully vaccinated; or

  3. Tent with a family member; or

  4. Sleep under the stars, weather permitting.


Driving or riding in vehicles

  1. When riding with people outside of their family, the driver and all passengers are not expected to wear masks if everyone in the vehicle is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 according to the current CDC guidelines.

  2. Unvaccinated Scouts or adults will be required to provide their own transportation to and from a long distance event.

  3. When traveling to local events, when riding with people outside of their family, if one or more in the vehicle are not fully vaccinated according to the current CDC guidance, the driver and all passengers will wear masks and windows will be cracked open for airflow.


Meetings and activities

  1. Whenever possible, we will hold our troop meetings and activities outside.

  2. When we meet indoors, everyone will be required to wear a well fitted mask that covers their nose regardless of their vaccination status.

We appreciate your cooperation with our COVID-19 policy. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation, and we will modify the policy based on new information. We will continue to review the CDC and Boulder County Health Department guidelines. These protocols are subject to revision based on the latest CDC and Boulder County Health Department guidelines. Because these are very challenging times, our goals are to keep our Scouts, adult leaders, and families safe and to always “Be Prepared”.


If you have questions about the Troop 171 COVID-19 policy, please contact the Adult Committee Chairperson, the Troop 171G Scoutmaster, or the Troop 171B Scoutmaster.



ARCHIVE

Troop COVID-19 Safety Policy

Effective September 18, 2021

Dear Scouts, Families, and Volunteers of Troop 171,


After a summer when COVID-19 seemed to be on the decline, levels of the virus are rising once more nationally and in Boulder County. As we begin another active year of Scouting, we must revisit our COVID policies in order to keep our community safe.

In formulating our COVID policies, we are painfully aware that many of our Scouts are too young to be vaccinated and that some members of our community are immune-suppressed and thus especially vulnerable.

Many organizations across the country are requiring vaccinations. We may consider this also depending on the rate of COVID infections. We have taken into account current guidance from the national and district Scouts BSA, state and local governments, Boulder Valley School District, and other youth organizations. We have listened to Scout families as well; thanks to all who responded to our survey.

We understand that how to best deal with COVID brings about a wide range of strong opinions, but we are guided by something we hope all can appreciate: we should do all we can to keep Troop 171B and Troop 171G Scouts and adults safe. For that reason, we have adopted the following policies.

Troop COVID-19 Safety Policy

Effective September 18, 2021

  1. To the highest degree, we strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to be fully vaccinated from COVID.

  1. When younger Scouts become eligible for vaccinations, we strongly encourage them to get fully vaccinated.

  1. We strongly urge that everyone take advantage of the various COVID testing opportunities at BVSD and other sites.

  1. We will soon be asking you for your vaccination status. Please promptly provide that information when we make that request.


To keep everyone safe, we will follow these safe practices.

Tenting

Scouts will tent:

  1. Individually in their own tent, bivvy, or hammock; or

  2. With one other person from a cohort group established outside of Scouts; or

  3. With a family member; or

  4. Sleep under the stars, weather permitting.


Driving in vehicles

  1. When riding with people outside of their family or cohort, the driver and all passengers will mask up and windows will be cracked open for air flow.

  2. With these precautions, Scouts can carpool with drivers going to campouts and activities.


Meetings

  1. We will hold as many meetings and activities outside through the fall and winter as possible.

  2. Indoors, everyone masks up, and we will have air flow through the rooms.

We appreciate your cooperation with our policies. These are challenging times. We will continue to monitor the COVID situation, and will, as always, Be Prepared.


If you have questions about our COVID policies, please contact me, Marta, or Greg.