Flu Season, COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, Delta Variant Forming Perfect Storm for Schools and Businesses

WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of increasing COVID-19 spread via the Delta variant and nationwide vaccine mandates, CastleBranch, an infectious disease screening and compliance management company, is ramping-up efforts to provide its full, end–to–end solution prior to this fall's flu season to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 by identifying, isolating and interrupting the spread of the disease and securing verified proof of vaccination or waiver status. Available as a complete managed service, the solution provides temperature screening and symptom monitoring; quarantine and isolation protocol management; diagnostic testing facilitation and results monitoring; and contact tracing, along with physical and digital proof of vaccination to help higher education institutions, employers, and healthcare facilities protect their people from the threat of COVID-19.

Clinically speaking, COVID-19 and the flu are indistinguishable from one another in the diseases' early stages. Lacking the ability to differentiate one from the other, experts are recommending organizations treat all flu cases as potential COVID-19 cases—until proven otherwise—to reduce the threat of COVID-19 spreading. In a typical flu season, the United States could see more than 9 million influenza cases in the United States.

As the stresses on our system continue to grow, it will be important for organizations to have a process in place to help mitigate the risk of infectious disease, while also helping organizations deal with the logistical, legal and liability challenges that come when collecting huge amounts of personal data needed to screen for COVID-19, as well as managing hundreds to thousands of individuals across a single organization.

Violating state and federal privacy laws, as organizations collect personally identifiable information and medical records needed to screen for COVID-19, can result in fines anywhere from $50,000 per incident to millions of dollars. Furthermore, institutions and employers across the country are now facing the threat of litigation for gross negligence or wrongful death for failing to adequately protect their people, making the construction of clear, detailed audit trails absolutely essential for all organizations.

Additionally, new vaccine mandates from the White House could result in employers incurring $14,000 fines for not enforcing the mandates. As more organizations implement employee-wide mandates, they will need robust proof of vaccination with a detailed audit trail to help protect them from liability.

CastleBranch has helped thousands of enterprise-level organizations collect and review millions of immunization and vaccine records for 25 years, and released a COVID-centric solution in April 2020 to help organizations mitigate the risk of the disease. Its first solution, CB COVID-19 Compliance, was designed to help organizations monitor COVID and flu-like symptoms, including fever and exposure to the disease. The solution can also be used to help manage complex quarantine and/or isolation procedures to help organizations stop either the flu or COVID-19 from spreading, and can also help facilitate diagnostic test tracking and contact tracing.

Additionally, CastleBranch's RealVaccinationID.com cards can be used to help large organizations gather proof of vaccination to comply with the federal vaccine mandate. RealVaccinationID.com provides digital and physical proof of COVID-19 vaccination or waiver status while helping companies to create a secure audit trail. The driver's licensed-sized cards can be obtained after an individual submits proof of his or her vaccination, booster shot, or waiver status, along with name, date of birth, address, photo ID and other personal identifiers. A team of trained experts reviews and verifies the medical information under CastleBranch's "nothing about me without me" policy, which protects the individual's private data from unwanted exposure. The cards also incorporate sophisticated forgery-prevention technology, including holographic film similar to those found on state-issued IDs, to help individuals prove they've received the COVID-19 vaccine or qualify for vaccine exemption, while making counterfeiting or forgery next to impossible.

CastleBranch has reviewed more than 35 million medical documents and records over the course of its 25-year history, and its solutions are used by nearly every hospital in the country to manage student clinical rotations – which includes proving immunization, vaccination or waiver status.

The company launched RealVaccinationID.com in January 2021 to save clients in the education, healthcare, and business sectors from the logistical, legal, and liability pitfalls that come with allocating inexperienced internal resources toward implementing a comprehensive vaccination and waiver system. CastleBranch experts review all documentation, create medical and religious waiver processes and forms, and successfully handle sensitive, private information without running afoul of strict state and federal data handling rules and regulations.

For more information visit RealVaccinationID.com. 

About CastleBranch:
Located in Wilmington, N.C., CastleBranch is one of the leading providers of vaccination, immunization tracking and diagnostic test tracking in the United States. With 25 years' experience, the company has collected, reviewed, and/or stored over 35 million medical documents for a majority of healthcare education programs across the nation. Their applications are designed to maintain strict compliance with state and federal privacy regulations; create a detailed audit trail along every step of the process; and to help organization handle the logistics of implementing a complex vaccine mandate at scale.

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SOURCE CastleBranch