The bottom line, public health experts say, is that employers need to be flexible, because COVID is expected to continue to wax and wane. Corporate policies may require masks and more remote work during times of high transmission.
Amid that kaleidoscope of factors, Lyndra Therapeutics crafted a multipronged approach for its 152 employees in Watertown and Lexington that requires all employees to be vaccinated and to undergo COVID testing at least twice a week, with PCR testsprovided by the company. Employees swab themselves at work, and the company sends the batches out, with results generally in less than 24 hours.
Masks are optional but the company uses a color-coded bracelet system that allows workers to convey their preference. Workers wear a green bracelet if they are comfortable with colleagues going maskless around them; yellow if they are wearing a mask but don’t expect others to; and red if they want those in their vicinity to mask up.
Lyndra also uses sensors on employees’ company ID badges that help managers instantly identify workers who were within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of a colleague who tested positive. The sensors download the information to a database to help managers notify workers who may have been exposed.
Lyndra Therapeutics is a two-time awardee of the Massachusetts Life Science Center’s Tax Incentive Program, a program that provides incentives to companies looking to expand their efforts by creating new, long-term jobs in Massachusetts.