You may also refer to:
What should we do if a participant requests to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
What kind of safety guidelines should our students, volunteers, and families adhere to during the year?
As in previous cycles, we expect host families and volunteers to report medical concerns their students may experience while on program. While normally minor medical concerns such as the common cold or minor cuts or scrapes that are treatable through home care need not be reported, it is important for students and families to report any COVID-19 – like symptoms to you right away.
Should you learn that a student or a member of a host family household has tested positive for COVID-19, please notify your Volunteer Support Coordinator, and/or Support Staff as quickly as possible. Please also request that the host family follow state, territorial, tribal, local and/or school guidelines with regard to COVID-19.
The AFS Participant Medical Plan continues to serve as a secondary travel medical plan for all AFS participants. Please note that under the Participant medical plan COVID-19 testing is considered preventative and will therefore not be covered. The only exception to this is if a doctor orders a COVID-19 test done in the course of treating a student illness.
In Preparation
Identify medical providers, hospitals, etc. that are in close proximity to where students are placed. Please use the GMMI website as your guide in identifying providers. You can check your team’s crisis plan in MyAFS in the Team widget to make sure your team has medical providers identified.
We also encourage all teams that are hosting this cycle to identify volunteers who would be comfortable taking a student to the doctor or to a hospital if needed, in the event that the host family or liaison are unable to do so. You can check your team’s crisis plan in the Team widget in MyAFS to make sure your team has these volunteers identified.
With any medical concern a student may experience on program, AFS will continue to yield to the recommendations of the treating medical professional.
Learn more
- What should we do if a participant requests to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
- Will AFS require participants to have the COVID-19 vaccine?
- What COVID-19 related expenses are included in the AFS Participant Medical Plan?
- Are there any AFS-specific COVID-19 reporting requirements?
- What should we advise a host family if their student gets sick or another member of the host family gets sick?