COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. If you need care, don’t hesitate to call your doctor’s office or contact them through My Health Online. Our employees and healthcare teams are ready to serve you and look forward to providing care, either in person or by Video Visit.

If you have a chronic condition like diabetes or have needs related to ongoing treatment, don’t wait to contact your care team for appointments. Delaying care can be dangerous. To avoid unwanted outcomes and complications, call your doctor’s office or send your care team a message through My Health Online.

COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for anyone age 6 months and over. To learn more about the vaccines and how to book a vaccination appointment, please visit COVID-19 Vaccine Resources.

In alignment with state and federal guidelines, we have revised Sutter’s COVID-19 vaccination policy for workforce members:

Employees who enter a Sutter patient care site to perform work, or who have in-person contact with patients while performing work, regardless of location, are required to receive a COVID-19 primary vaccine series.

Patients and visitors will continue to self-screen prior to entry to our care sites. We’ve updated our masking requirements to align with local and California Department of Public Health guidance.

• Sutter-provided masks are recommended and will be available for all patients and visitors.
• Masks are strongly recommended for anyone who is ill or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or another respiratory illness.
• Visitors are welcome in our hospitals and may join patients for their medical appointments.
• To help protect the health and safety of our patients and healthcare workers, we strongly recommend visitors wear a mask and limit visitation, when possible, if they’re ill or experiencing symptoms.

Effective April 3, 2023, California health officials ended statewide masking requirements in healthcare settings. While masking is no longer required in most care areas, we continue to recommend it in our patient care settings. Sutter-provided procedure masks will still be available for all workforce members, patients and visitors.

Note that certain counties continue to have mandatory masking requirements in healthcare settings. County requirements will continue to override Sutter’s policies if the county requirement is stricter. In addition, some departments, including those that serve high-risk patients, may continue to require masking, so please check when you arrive. 

Yes, you can request that your care team mask. Our staff and doctors provide compassionate and respectful care every day, so we’ve asked our team members to accommodate any requests to wear a mask. We continue to require masking in certain high-risk patient care areas, including our transplant units and infusions centers.

California’s COVID-19 state of emergency ended Feb. 28. At Sutter, we’re also shifting to a new phase in our pandemic response. We continue to recommend masks and make them available for healthcare workers, patients and visitors at our care facilities.

The mask mandate update is due to:

• Changes to state and local health orders.
• The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and tests.
• Improved treatments.
• Lower occurrences of severe COVID-19 infections.

Yes, Sutter-provided masks are recommended and will continue to be available for all patients, visitors and care team members.

If you’re admitted to a Sutter hospital, you’ll be screened and, if symptomatic, tested for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status. COVID-19 testing may also be required before certain procedures. If testing is required, your provider will contact you with instructions.

Sutter is following CDC, local and county public health guidelines on who should be tested for COVID-19. Generally, this includes anyone with one or more of the following symptoms:

• Fever over 100°
• Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

At-home antigen tests are available through retail pharmacies and the federal government.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms and think you should be tested, try these options:

• Call or message your doctor directly.
• Consider scheduling a Video Visit with your doctor or a Sutter Walk-In Care clinician through My Health Online.
• Use our COVID-19 Screener to help determine next steps.

If you don’t have a My Health Online account, you can enroll online. If you’re not able to have a Video Visit, your doctor can tell you how to get evaluated.

Recommendations on testing may differ by county. Please contact your doctor or check your county’s website for more information.

Sign in to My Health Online and tap Your Menu. When the menu appears, tap COVID-19 under My Record and you’ll find results of past COVID-19 tests as well as your COVID-19 vaccine information. If you need to share your test results or vaccination status, you can take a screenshot, download or print a copy, or generate a scannable QR code.

Did you get vaccinated outside of Sutter Health? You can add your vaccination information in your My Health Online record.

Find out more or watch our instructional videos:

• Mobile device or tablet.
• Laptop or desktop computer.