Health Protocols & Vaccination Policies

Vaccination Exemptions

There are exceptions to the Ramah Darom vaccination policy, but they are extremely rare. We recognize that individuals who have had a documented severe allergy or severe adverse reaction to a particular vaccine may not be able to complete the immunization schedule outlined by the AAP and the CDC. Additionally, individuals with medical conditions such as congenital immunodeficiency or HIV, cancer and who are receiving chemotherapy, transplant patients, and persons receiving immunosuppressive drugs and chronic steroids also may not be able to receive certain vaccines.

We are happy to discuss case-by-case management of these circumstances of medical contraindication to partial or complete vaccination.

Process for Vaccinations Exemption Requests for Summer Camp

Any exemption requests must be submitted by April 1st. Exemption requests should be addressed to the Ramah Darom Medical Committee and emailed to Ramah Darom’s CEO. Requests must include current documentation from a Physician (MD or DO), or a Pediatric/Family Practice Advanced Practice Nurse (ARNP or PNP), describing the reason for exemption from immunization. Requests will be kept confidential and reviewed by our Medical Committee Chair, in consultation with members of the Ramah Darom Medical Committee. Ramah Darom is committed to ensuring a safe and healthy community and only grants vaccination exemptions in very rare circumstances.

Please see the section on the Camp Enrollment Policies page entitled “Changes, Cancellations & Refunds” for details on our refund policies for campers who withdraw for documented medical reasons, or for declined vaccination exemption requests.

Process for Vaccinations Exemption Requests for Ramah Darom Retreats

Any exemption requests should be addressed to the Ramah Darom Medical Committee and emailed to Ramah Darom’s CEO at least 30 days before the start of the retreat. Requests must include current documentation from a Physician (MD or DO), or a Pediatric/Family Practice Advanced Practice Nurse (ARNP or PNP), describing the reason for exemption from immunization. Requests will be kept confidential and reviewed by our Medical Committee Chair, in consultation with members of the Ramah Darom Medical Committee as required. Ramah Darom is committed to ensuring a safe and healthy community and only grants vaccination exemptions in very rare circumstances.

Retreat attendees are asked to monitor their health before arriving to Ramah Darom’s campus. If you have symptoms of illness or believe you have been directly exposed to a communicable disease, we ask that you not attend the program to avoid the risk of transmission to our other guests and staff. We highly recommend purchasing Trip Protection Insurance as we are not able to refund your registration fees in the event of a last-minute cancelation.

Vaccinations: Ramah Darom requires that all individuals, families and programmatic staff attending or working at any Ramah Darom program (including Camp Ramah Darom and all Ramah Darom Retreats) adhere to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as outlined in US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) Recommended Immunization Schedules. You can find the complete Immunization Schedules in the section “Ramah Darom Vaccination Policies” above. Note that Ramah Darom strongly recommends, but does not require, the Covid-19 vaccine. The Retreat registration agreement asks guests to affirm that everyone included on their registration meets all immunization requirements.

Covid-19 testing: No Covid testing is required for attendance at Ramah Darom retreats, but if you have symptoms of Covid or believe you have been directly exposed, we ask that you not attend the program.

If you are ill, receive a positive Covid test result or are directly exposed to Covid or any other communicable disease in the days leading up to your arrival at Ramah Darom and unable to attend a program, unfortunately we are not able to refund your registration fees. We highly recommend purchasing Trip Protection Insurance.

Each year dozens of groups rent the Ramah Darom campus to run their own programs. While we highly encourage all groups renting our campus to adopt their own health protocols and policies, the above Ramah Darom policies and protocols do not apply to rental groups.