The big news around Innovize: The Supreme Court and MN OSHA have ceased enforcement of the “Vaccine-or-Testing” mandate.

It has always been our policy to follow the State of Minnesota’s mandates and guidelines when it comes to COVID. So, we had been busy gearing up for what seemed like the inevitable new mandate that was going to require proof of vaccination or weekly testing for our 250+ associates.

It is equally important to us to ensure the safety of our associates and guests, as well as respect the decisions of others. Because this mandate did not go through, we get to hang on to a few of our valued associates who may have searched for work elsewhere where the mandate was not going to be enforced or required.

This news also allows Innovize to proceed like we have been with our approach to the vaccine and masking. Given our higher risk of exposure due to the inability to do our work from home, we are continuing to encourage ALL associates and visitors, vaccinated or not, to wear a mask when you are in common areas on campus or not able to maintain 6’ of social distancing.

The current COVID variant (Omicron) has proven to be highly contagious, but thankfully with much less severe symptoms and reactions than previous variants. As a result, this is impacting our Innovize associates – our cases have nearly doubled since Omicron surfaced.

We continue to work on several diagnostic tests that are in the market and others that are even more rapid response platforms that we anticipate coming to market soon.

While we are excited to be a part of these opportunities, our hope is that our society needs less testing six months from now than we need today. Either way, we’re prepared for the next variant or new virus.

 

Stay Healthy,

Dave Jessen

Owner & VP of Sales & Marketing